Boys Catholic School
by WREIN
Summary: I walked over and looked down at where his finger was pointed.What I saw was Rozet sitting and eating contently with Joshua and friends. My heart throbbed painfully again and my face twisted in hurt.“See?you’re jealous and hurt aren’t you?” he asked.AUrxc
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hope you like this one. It's going to be in first person narrative. Review if you want me to continue. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter One**

**Christophers' POV:**

"Class please give a warm welcome to our new student. You can come in now." I heard the teacher say then wary applause was heard. I opened the door and stepped into the classroom. I heard the wary applause suddenly get enthusiastic and some whistles were blown. I felt blood rush to my cheeks as I tried to keep my cool.

"Please tell the other students a little about yourself." The teacher—not much older looking than me—ordered. O.k. I'm trying to think of something to say when a student suddenly shouts, "Hey, you live on campus?" then he smiled goofily and I heard more whistles. The teacher beside me scowled and said, "Jared, you know all students that go to school here live on campus."

"Well, my name is Christopher Rozet," I started, "and I would like it if you called me Christopher. Thank you, that's all." I ended. The teacher looked at my as if she was expecting me to say more but I looked back and she said, "O.k. class please treat Mr. Rozet-" I interrupted her, "Christopher, please."

"Yes, Christopher," she corrected herself, "kindly. And…um…I'm Sister Claire, your teacher, feel free to ask me if you need any help."

"Thanks." I said again to her, then smiled brightly, faced the class and asked, "Where do I sit?"

Sister Claire looked surprised, I didn't understand why though, and said, "Sit anywhere you would like. There are no assigned seats as long as there is no trouble."

I looked out at the class. And my eye caught on a specific student. He was sitting at the very back next to the window and on his other side was an empty desk, his hair was dark and reached to just above his waist, it looked kind of purple, and his eyes—was it just my imagination—they looked like a deep crimson red. What an odd eye color, was he wearing contacts?

I moved down the aisle to sit next to the intriguing boy. I sat down next to him, "Hi, I'm Christopher Rozet. Who are you?" I asked simply and extended my hand to his. He turned to face towards me and said softly, "I'm Chrono Daemon, nice to meet you." Then shook my hand a smile seemingly tugging at his lips, and turned back to face the window. And was I imagining things again or was there a blush dusting his cheeks.

The boy, Chrono, seemed nice enough. Class started.

……..

_DING _

_DI__NG_

_DING _

The five minute warning bell rang signaling five more minuets till the end of first period. I looked at Chrono, he was writing down notes. "Hey, Chrono," he paused when I said his name and turned to me questioningly, "Yes?" he whispered so Sister Claire wouldn't hear.

"Could you show me to my dorm room, please?"

He looked surprised, "You mean you don't know where your dorm room is? Didn't they show you last week with all the other new students?" he asked innocently.

I smiled sheepishly, "Well, you see, I just arrived this morning. I was a last minuet call, so the principle or whatever, Sister Kate gave me my schedule and just told me to ask someone for help. And…you're the only person I know…"

"Oh. O.k." he smiled kindly, "show me your schedule, I'll help you find your classes, too. Then at lunch I'll show you to your dorm room."

"Thanks." I sighed in relief; thank god he said he would help me or I would be dead lost.

_DING_

_DING_

_DING_

_DING_

The bell signaling for us to go to our next class rang; Chrono was still studying my schedule. "Hmm…you have five classes—first, second, third, fifth, and seventh—and lunch with me." I smiled.

"We eat first lunch shift, which is after fourth period." He added.

We arrived at our second class; math. Ugh…I despise math, especially so early in the morning. Chrono walked in ahead of me and went to find a window seat to sit in while the teacher, who was pretty cute, told me to come stay in the front of the class and 'tell them about myself.' So I did, "Hi, my name is Christopher Rozet. Call me Christopher." I said.

The teacher smiled and said warmly, "Welcome to Magdalene Catholic High School for Boys, I'm Father Remington. I'll be your math teacher." Oh, did I mention this is a boy's only catholic school? Well, it is.

"Can I choose where to sit?" I asked.

Father Remington smiled back, "Of course," then said, "No trouble, no seating charts."

I looked for Chrono. He had found himself another seat in the back of the room and next to the window. I moved to go sit next to him again. I hope he doesn't mind me sitting next to him.

He smiled invitingly. There's my invitation, he doesn't mind.

I sit next to him and math class begins. I manage to pay enough attention that I don't fall asleep.

…….

_DING_

_DING_

_DING _

_DING_

Third and fourth period went by the as first and second: stand in front of the class, 'tell them about myself', sit down, try not to sleep, write notes, then get up when the bell rings. The only difference being that first, second and third period Chrono was with me and fourth period I had with total strangers.

I got up according to Chrono and my schedule I now had lunch, where was the cafeteria?

I stepped out of the door and bumped into someone who was walking in, resulting in my falling onto my butt. "Oh, sorry, are you o.k.?" I heard a soft familiar voice and looked up. "Chrono!" I said surprised. I could've sworn he jumped a mile high. "Rozet-a?" he asked. I smiled, this was the first time he actually said my name and I liked how he said it, he added an 'ah' to my name.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"Oh," he smiled now, "I thought you would need some help getting to the cafeteria. But we should go find your dorm room first." I reached into my backpack and pulled out the slip of paper with my dorm room number on it. "Let's go." I said getting up and pulling him towards the doors leading outside. If I'd turned around I would've seen Chrono blushing at our entwined hands, but I didn't. It didn't even cross my mind.

"Lets see…here it says—oh," I just remembered something I needed to ask, "are we allowed off campus during lunch period?"

"Yeah. What's your dorm room?" he sounded eager to know.

"Uh…it says I'm in dorm building C, third floor room 305." I answered and pulled out my room key.

"Let's go, then." We headed off towards building C, room 305.

……..

We were on the third floor and looking for room 305, "Say, Chrono," I began.

"Yes?"

"Where's your dorm room?" I asked.

He looked surprised and I felt like I had to defend myself so I started saying, "Well, you know, so if I ever get lost. Or need help with something I can come bother you…" I was going to say more but he started talking.

"Come to my room anytime you need help, Rozet-a," he smiled looking up at numbers on the door, "it's in building A, fourth floor room 450." I smiled, he was really nice. There were seven dorm buildings in all, and each of them had four floors. If that doesn't show you the magnitude of the school, I don't know what would. I don't know how I'm ever going to find my brother in this place.

"O.k. here's the room" Chrono said standing in front of a door marked 305.

I took out the key from my pocket again and tired to stick it into the door knob but it wouldn't go in. I tried again. And again. And again. This was getting embarrassing. I turned to face Chrono, "The key won't fit." I said with blood rushing to my face.

"Really?" he took the key from me and tried the door. It still wouldn't fit. He looked up at the numbers on the door, "But it says 305." He said, then, "Are you sure you read that paper right?"

"Yeah." I answered, then handed him the said slip of paper. He checked it over quickly to see if there had been any mistakes. "Well this _is_ the right place. The key must be wrong. Let's go check in the administrative office." He said leading me down the stairs, out the door, and towards the said office.

………

"Um…I'm a new student here. The one who arrived this morning." I said to the woman dressed in a habit behind the desk.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Well um…Sister Kate gave me this as my dorm room," I handed her the slip of paper, "and she gave me the key to the room," I showed her the key, "but the key won't open the door, it doesn't even fit in the lock."

"Oh, what's your name, honey?" she asked.

"Um…Ros- I mean Christopher Rozet." A sweat drop formed on the back of my head, I almost blew my cover. Got to be more careful I reminded myself before looking at the woman who had gone into a cabinet that was hidden in a closet in search of my room information.

"Is it figured out yet?" Chrono asked as he showed up with two sandwiches and chocolate milks on a tray. He handed a sandwich and chocolate milk to me, he smiled sheepishly "That's all I could get with the money I had." He said. I smiled gratefully at him, I didn't have any money. I wouldn't have been able to eat if he didn't give me anything, "Thanks." I managed to say before shoving the delicious sandwich into my mouth and gulping down the chocolate milk.

The woman came back just as we were finishing our lunches. She smiled, "Thank you, Chrono, for helping out our new student here." She said then looked through the folder in her hand and rewrote it on another sheet of paper which she handed to me and I stuffed into my pocket.

"Does it tell who my roommate will be?" I asked.

"Uh…no. Strangely it did not say in your information." She smiled mischievously, "I guess you'll just have to wait and see."

"Fine. So was it the room or the key Sister-" I paused to look at the name tag, "Augusta?"

"Oh, that. It seems Sister Kate must have mixed up your room information with another student, a freshman here, a…" she paused to look at here computer screen again, "a Joshua Christopher."

I hardly registered that I had just dropped the milk carton.** Joshua Christopher. JOSHUA CHRISTOPHER! **"J-Joshua Christopher…?" I breathed out the question.

"Uh…yes." The nun was looking strangely at me while Chrono bent over to pick up the carton, "Do you know him?" the sister asked.

Of course I knew him. I smirked unconsciously up at her, "I guess you can say that." I said. Now Chrono was looking at me strangely. Was I growing another head?

"We should get going, Rozet-a. Fifth Period starts soon." I heard Chrono say and go out the door.

I followed suit but before exiting the door I turned around and said, "Thank you." Then opened the door and stepped outside.

……….

_DING_

_DING_

_DING_

_DING_

Fifth, sixth, and seventh period had passed with nothing out of the ordinary, same routine as the rest of the day.

I took out the slip of paper with my new dorm information on it. I would have to find my room by myself, Chrono had to go to the library to pick up some books, then go back to his room and wait for his new roommate to arrive.

I looked at the slip of paper, it read:

** Building A**

** Fourth floor, Room 450**

Oddly that sounded familiar. Although I don't know where from.

I headed off in search of my room.

**--END CHAPTER ONE--**

**A/N: O.k. if you have not if you have not figured out who Christopher Rozet is, you are kind of slow. hope you lked it and REVIEW please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Do you guys hate this story? Is it that bad? People also keep telling me it sounds like Casui's 'Stars Don't Shine.' It's not, though. If you really hate it send me a review that says so and if enough people don't like it I will delete this story. I don't want to be called a copy-cat, 'stars don't shine is one of my favorite fanfics, and I hope you can read it. **

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**--CHAPTER TWO--**

(Chronos' POV)

"Wooh…WOOOOHHHH!" I almost dropped the stack of books I was carrying as I walked out the library doors and almost bumped into a person with white hair.

_**F**__**W**__**LAP**_

_**BOMP **_

Never mind I did drop one of my many books. As I was about to lean over and balance the other books in one hand the fallen book was put gently on top of my stacks of books. I stared around the books to look at and thank the person who had picked it up for me. It was Aion Rennis. The most popular guy in the whole school. Compared to him I was a nobody, nobody even knew I existed. Well maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration since the new transfer student did know me, and maybe some others as well. I felt kind of guilty for not helping him find his new room but my books came in two days ago and I didn't have the time to go get them. If I didn't get them today they would get sent back. And I had been waiting to read these. So it couldn't be helped.

"Thank you." I said as I went along my way not caring to turn back or say more, if I had I would've seen him looking at me then smiling slyly to himself.

……..

I checked the clock on the wall as I passed by. It read: 6:00. I had taken fifteen minuets to get here, here being the floor on which my room was on. I walked the distance to my room: room 450. And decided to do the sensible thing and put my books down and get my key.

I opened the door with my foot, balancing the books in one hand while trying to put my key back in my pocket with the other. I walked through the door closing it behind me with my foot and scanned my room for a place to set the books and my backpack down on. I nearly dropped said books when my eye I caught on something. Someone was in my bed. I imagine I felt like the three bears when they came home to find the girl in their bed.

I walked over to one corner of my room and dropped my books down noisily to try and wake him up. The figure didn't even stir. I walked cautiously towards my bed, "nhg…dodh" I couldn't make out the words but something was being said.

I pulled down the blanket and I my eyes practically popped out of my sockets, for there lying on my bed was Christopher Rozet.

What is he doing here? Did he come here to ask me to help him find his room? I did give him my dorm information and tell him he could come here for help anytime, after all.

I extended my hand and grabbed hold of his shoulders to shake him awake and ask him the numerous questions that were running through my head when he said something interesting but strange, "Don't go…we have…to…stick together, I'll…protect you…don't go…" I looked up at the face that the strangely girly and sad voice belonged to.

I was startled to see that on his cheeks were the remnant trails of tears and washing over them was a cascade of fresh tears, slipping out and under from his closed eyelids dampening my pillow and blankets. A sense of protectiveness rushed over me; why was ever cheerful Rozet crying? Why? Even though I had only known him for one day I felt I could understand him, and because of that I had to protect him.

I shook him gently and was rewarded with a slap to my hand and his voice growling out, "Let go! Let go! I have to…protect…"

I didn't let go. I shook him again, gently. And this time called his name, "Christopher Rozet-a! Rozet-a! Wake up. Rozet-a." this time he responded and slowly opened his eyes to reveal to me his deep ocean blue orbs. He looked at me confused for a moment, then seemed to register something and ask, "C-Chrono? What are you doing here?"

I smiled; I was supposed to be the one asking that question not the other way around.

"The question is: What are _you_ doing here?" I asked.

_"Me?_ What are you doing here?" he asked, not answering my question.

"Like I told you, this is my room. Do you need something?" I asked again, hoping for an answer this time.

A moment later a face splitting grin crossed his face and he said, "Nice meeting you, roommate."

I stared blankly for a minuet and asked flatly, "If you knew that why didn't you tell me in one of our classes?"

He sweat dropped, "Well, I kind of…forgot this was your room number."

"Oh, really? Well, welcome, roommate!" I said with an outstretched hand. He took my hand and we shook then let go and burst into laughter.

I finally stopped laughing I looked at Rozets' angelic face, he looked…girly, with his heart shaped face, full pink lips, sapphire eyes framed by long lashes with a mass of honey gold shoulder length hair half tied into a messy ponytail . I am really not one to say though, because more than once I had been mistaken for a girl because of my long hair which I keep tied back in a sloppy ponytail, I had even been mistaken as a prepubescent boy because of my height.

It seems Rozet noticed my staring and now his cheeks are tinting in pink. He looked…cute.

"W-what? I-is there s-something on m-my face?" he stammered.

"Actually, there is…" I timidly bent over to wipe the remnants of tears on his wet cheeks, "you know, you shouldn't cry alone." I said softly. He nodded and turned his face away as if in shame or anger, "Did you have a bad dream?"

No response.

I continued, "Did you have a bad dream? I heard you say-" I pause to look at his face, the features on his face are contorted in such emotional pain that I don't want to continue, "Don't go." I stopped and waited for his reaction to the words.

He still didn't turn around, "Oh that. No, silly, I dreamt that I was going to eat this delicious piece of hot steak but then it got up and ran away. I told it not to go so I could eat it. And when I finally caught up to it I was so happy I started crying…" he turned around and put on a smile, a smile I know well, and started rambling on about steak and potatoes.

I put on a mirror image of his smile and extended my hand to him, "C'mon. You must be hungry then. Let's go eat."

The fake smile didn't leave his face as he grabbed onto my hand and I hauled him up onto his feet.

And with that we left to go to the dining room.

……….two weeks later……….

Joshua. I now hate that name.

Though why, I don't know. Maybe for the fact that he is taking Christopher from me. But Christopher really wasn't ever mine to begin with.

I'm sitting in my fourth period class, waiting for the bell to ring so I can see Rozets' face at lunch. I don't understand why I want to see him so much; he is just a boy like every other at this school. If only I could understand these feelings that are developing in me then I wouldn't be so scared. Scared that I might hurt him…or myself…

"CHRONO DAEMON! This is the fourth time I've called your name! Answer the question!"

I quickly looked up to see the teacher glaring at me while the other students chuckled and laughed.

"Ah...can you repeat the question?" I asked sheepishly smiling at the history teacher who glared back and seemed to fume right in front of my eyes. I don't think he is going to repeat the question.

"Pss…" someone whispered. I turned toward the sound of the whisper and looked into the face of none other than Aion Rennis. "He asked about what Hitler and Stalin signed before the annex of Poland."

Oh, was that it? Jeez that was the easiest question ever. If the teacher had only told me I would have answered. "Hitler and Stalin signed the nonaggression pact in 1939 before they invaded Poland and took over it. The pact stated that Germany and Russia would never attack each other. It was later broken by Hitler when he tried to invade Russia."

The history teacher seemed pleased by the answer and seemed about to ask another when suddenly—

_DING _

_DING_

_DING_

_DING_

Saved by the bell. "Please make sure to read chapters 16 and 17 of your textbook by Friday. That is all for today, class." Or not.

I stopped Aion when we were outside the door. "Hey, thanks." I said.

He smiled and said, "No problem. Can you do something for me though?"

What did he want? "Uh…what?" I asked suddenly suspicious.

"Well…I want to talk to you at lunch. Privately if possible."

O.k. now the guy had me very suspicious. I mean, talking to another GUY? _ALONE?_ How weird does that sound? Or maybe I'm just being very paranoid. That could be it.

I didn't know what to say so I said, "O.k. where, then?"

"Umm….how about on the school roof after you have finished eating?" he asked

It was too late to turn back now, and I was probably just being paranoid so I said, "Yeah. O.k." and walked towards Rozets' fourth period class.

I was just about there when I saw him walk out and away with Joshua. Did I mention I hate the name Joshua yet? Well not the name exactly, more like the actual person. My heart, I suspect, gave a suddenly painful tug.

I clutched onto my chest and I heaved a heavy sigh letting go of the front of my shirt. Oh well, whatever then. I would just eat alone. That would be fine.

I started on my way to lunch. When I was finally in the dining room I looked for an empty table but found none. So I grabbed my food and left to go and eat alone outside. What I found outside was probably worse.

I found Christopher sitting, eating and laughing with Joshua and a group of other boys. My heart throbbed painfully, more painfully then before. I don't know why seeing him like that was so painful. I should be happy shouldn't I, because he made new friends? So why wasn't I happy? Why wasn't I happy to see him with his new friends…and maybe more? I shook my head to clear it of the strange thoughts that had invaded my mind. Suddenly I wasn't very hungry. I took a bite of the slice of plain white bread that I'd gotten and threw the rest away. If I didn't eat anything, I know I would regret it.

I walked through the schools' hallways and found the door to the roof. I grabbed the handle, pulled the door open and walked up the staircase towards the top of the building.

When I got there, Aion was already there, leaning casually against the railing and facing towards the doors which I just walked through. He seemed to brighten up when he saw me. That was a rather strange reaction, I hardly knew the dude, after all.

"Yo. Over here." He said indicating the spot next to him.

I am rather uncomfortable with the situation. Though nothing has happened yet, something feels ominous. "It's alright," I say, "I'm fine right here."

He smiles. I look at him and ask, "So what did you want to talk about? Are you failing history and want me to tutor you, or something?"

He seems amused now and keeps on smiling, "No. My grades are all 'A's and 'B's right now. I don't need help with history, or any other class for that matter. I just wanted to ask…" he paused, "I've seen the way you look at him during lunch and our other classes." He says.

I look confusedly down at him. Who was he talking about, and how was I looking at him? (And how many of my classes did I even have with Aion, anyway? I _have_ to pay more attention.) I was about to voice my thoughts when he interrupted and said, "You know who I'm talking about." Then smiled slyly up at me. Suddenly it hit me like a hammer. Was he talking about…Christopher? He must have seen the realization and horror on my face because the next thing I knew he was smirking and said, "See? You know _exactly_ who I'm talking about, don't you? For a moment I thought I would have to spell it out for you."

I did know who he was talking about but what was he saying? He had me confused again so this time I asked, "Are you talking about Christopher? And spell what out for me?"

"Of course Christopher. Who else. You only have eyes for him after all." He said as if everyone should already know this. " Wh-what are you talking about?" I asked, scared.

"You're in love with Christopher Rozet, Chrono." He stated.

I started to tremble, that had somehow struck a chord. I was NOT in love with Rozet. I-I only want to protect her. That's all. Aion turned around and stared at me, I hadn't noticed I had voiced those thoughts. "You're in denial." He said looking pitifully at me, "I was too."

"NO!" I shouted, "NO! I-I'm not in _LOVE _with Rozet-a! I-I-I just…I just…"

"What? Want to protect him?" he said finishing my sentence.

"Yes." I said with my head down and shoulders slumped, "I…just want to protect her. That's all."

"Yes, but did you notice? You just called him her. That's the true way you think of him."

"No. It's not. It was just a mix up of words. I was just too angry and my words got messed up." I argued back.

"No." he said shaking his head, "that was not a simple slip of the tongue. And…" he looked over the railing and pointed. I walked over and looked down at where his finger was pointed. What I saw was Rozet sitting and eating contently with Joshua and friends. My heart throbbed painfully again and my face twisted in hurt. "See?…you're jealous and hurt aren't you?" he asked knowingly.

I slumped even further. Was I _that_ easy to read?

"You want him to like—no, love—you too." he stated rather than asked.

"Will you like me instead if he doesn't like you?" I looked at him stunned at the sudden question.

"That was what I wanted to talk to you about, actually."

"Wh-what?" I asked hoarsely. There were way too many confrontations today for me to take.

"Well…I really like you. And I want to be more than just friends." He says confidently.

"So…you want to be best friends then?" I ask then laughed nervously in an attempt to make this into a joke.

He looked at me, "No. I…want to be your…lover." He finished.

I'm sure I looked like a bright red fish right then. A l-l-lover? Who uses such a word? And he's asking to be my lover. ME. _ANOTHER BOY. LIKE HIM_

Oh. What the heck was this world coming to? And…am I really in…love with Christopher? Was that the feeling that I was developing? I knew deep inside I always thought of her as a girl since the day she got here. I smacked myself inwardly, Christopher was a BOY. _A BOY!_ Why was I saying she and her?

I think I'm turning into Aion Rennis. I didn't even know he was gay. I didn't know I was gay. Am I gay? And what am I going to say to Rennis? What was I going to do about Rennis? Oh, what was I going to do with all the wacky stuff that happened today.

"You don't have to answer right now. Just think about it." The guy who had told me all the information said. Then he left me there panicking and gaping like a fish out of water as he walked past and back down the stairs that I seemed to have walked up a million years ago.

**--END CHAPTER TWO--**

**A/N: Hoped that wasn't so bad, oh, if you don't get their last names, tell me and I will PM you or tell you in the next chapter if there is a next chapter. Also if you don't like this, for some reason, review, tell me why, and if enough don't like it I will delete it. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I just updated on my other story so I decided to update this one too. I want to thank snekochan for reading and reviewing the last chapter I also want to thank Spiritual Bob, MisoGirl, and Think-Chan. So, THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!!! I hope you like this chapter. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 3**

(Christopher's POV)

I laughed along with the rest of the group as another of Joshuas' friends told the stupidest joke on earth, "Hey Christopher and Joshua were made for each other. They both got the same first and middle name."

What else was I supposed to do? It had been two weeks since I had found Joshua at last only to find out he had forgotten all about me or how our lives in the orphanage was. I guess that was fortunate for him; he wouldn't have to remember all the hard times we went through and all the things I did to make sure we weren't separated only for him to choose to be separate. I guess it was fortunate of him that he didn't remember me; but unfortunately for _me_I could, and would, never forget about him. He was my only family left in the world. And not for the first time since I met him again I wondered how he could forget about me. _His _only _real_ family left.

I sighed inwardly at the thought. I looked at Joshua again. He had grown so much from the last time I had seen him, that had been five years ago. I had been eleven and he had been ten. Now I'm sixteen and he just turned fifteen. I was so glad I could be there for his birthday. That was how I met him again too…

_I walked up to dorm building C.__ Tonight was Joshua's birthday, September seventh. I would go up to him and ask him about his sister. Then, depending on what he says, I would tell him I missed him so much and that I had been searching for him since I was adopted. _

_'Don't worry,' I tried to soothe myself, 'he'll remember you for sure. You are his only family left after all.' That was true, but you never know. I started to panic again, 'what if he doesn't want to remember me, or see me.' Oh, well. I was getting sick of myself for acting so stupid, of course he would remember me, so I walked into the building. _

_"Dude, you here for Josh's__ par-T__!?" _

_I turned towards the 'dude' who had said that, "Uh-uh…yeah, yeah. You mind showing me to where it's going on?" I asked. _

_He smiled ear to ear and said, "Nah, c'mon." __he started walking towards the stairs. I analyzed him: he had plain smooth brown hair slanting across his face, the back part of his hair was messy and looked like it hadn't been combed__ in forever, and he__ wore baggy dark blue jeans and a pla__in white t-shirt. In other words:__ a normal guy._

_"So what's your name? You a frosh? Is that how you know Josh? Or are you a new student? Was he, like, an old friend?" he asked bombarding me with his questions as we walked up the stairs. _

_"Uh…" I had to answer without giving out a hint of who I really was, "Um…My name's Rose- I mean Christopher. Christopher Rozet. I'm not a 'frosh'. But I guess you could say I'm an old friend of Joshy." Oh shit, I let escape the name I called him when we were kids. I looked over at the __guy;__ he didn't seem to have noticed. Phew. I continued, "I'm in my sophomore year__. So who are you?" I questioned. _

_"I'm…a friend of Josh." He said__ looking away_

_"I mean your name." I clarified._

_"Oh, James. I'm a sophomore, too." _

_So, he's a sophomore too, huh. _

_"How'd you meet Joshua?" I asked honestly curious._

_"Oh, um…" he paused suspiciously, "Uh…he's…my brother." _

_I stared disbelievingly up at him. He turned around and looked at my then, seeing my expression, started flapping his arms around in defense and said with a panic stricken voice, "No! No! He's not my real brother, yo__u see, my parents adopted him. H__e came willing, __even__ leaving his sibling behind. I asked him about it once and he just said, 'You're the only sibling I have. __And __I__'ve__ never left you behind.' I guess he intended that to mean that he could not see he had left a sibling behind." James looked sadly at his feet that were still trudging up the stairs. I had paused on the second landing when I heard the thing that Joshua had said and what James thought he intended it to mean. _

_James paused and turned around, one look at my face and __he __said, "But that's just what __**I **__think he meant by it. He might have said it to mean a different thing. I'm happy he can think of me as his real brother, although…" James paused, studied my face, and continued hesitantly, "…Although I do feel sorry for his sibling…I never knew if his sibling was a boy or girl…he never told me. Whenever I asked he would say, 'I have a sister…' then follow up with, 'because you're not acting at all like a boy should.'__ Then he would smile and say he was just kidding. We would laugh but when I looked at him, he seemed to be thinking about something else, something in his past." He looked again at my face and said in a rush, "Oh!__I'm so sorry I spilled all that on you! I just got so caught up and—"_

_I stopped him mid-sentence saying, "It's alright. Sometimes it's good to spill on a stranger you hardly know." Then I tried hard to put on my brightest smile. He fell for it. Letting out a huge sigh of relief he smiled and said, "Well, c'mon then. You wouldn't want to be late to Joshua's party, would you?"_

_"No." I said feigning cheerfulness. We were now on the third landing. The door to the third floor in front of us. James pushed the door and walked into the hallway. I followed soon after. He was at the door to room number 305. I gulped down my doubt, but it could not be swallowed. He knocked and smiled brightly when the door was opened by a familiar face._

_"Joshua. Hey how's been going, dude?" he hugged Joshua and walked into the room.__ Leaving me looking at Joshua who was looking at me confused. _

_"Um…do I know you?" he asked._

_I took off the baseball cap that had been on my head, letting my hair flow down to shoulders I reached back and pulled my hair into a ponytail, he didn't remember me after all, "Happy birthday! I'm Christopher." I purposely didn't tell him my last name, "James invited me to your birthday. Is it alright with you?" I asked half-hopefully. _

_He only grinned and signaled for me to come in, then he looked into the kitchen part of the dorm where I spotted James and said, "James! I told you I'm NOT gay! Would you PLEASE stop bringing guys over to my place?" I stared confused at him. __Uh…__I'm a gir- oh right I'm a guy. __I played along and said, "I'm not gay either, James, if I had known this was what you were setting up I would have never came." _

_James stared at us blankly. Joshua started laughing so I did too. What choice did I have? I finally found my bother—the brother I had been searching for, for years. I didn't want him to dislike me. _

_I heard laughter around me so I looked around. The dorm room was filled with twenty, thirty maybe, guys. They were seated all over, on the floor, __on the beds__, on the sofa, and the sofa arms too, in chairs and on stools, on table tops and any open space I could see. I sweat dropped, how could I have not noticed that so many boys were in the room? And how did Joshua make so many friends so quickly._

_Well, let the fun begin…_

_…_

_When I final__ly got back to my dorm room it was 2 in the morning and I was plenty drunk. Good thing tomorrow was a Saturday. I felt my way around room the trying to find the way to my bed when I tripped over something and fell hard on my face. I let out a small scream before I hit the floor and suddenly a lamp was turned on. I groaned, the light hurt my eyes. _

_I heard a bed creak and footsteps coming closer, for some odd reason I could not get up. Finally I heard a voice ask, "Rozet-a? Is that you? Are you __o.k.__?" then the feet were in front of me. I pushed myself onto my feet and looked into the face of Chrono, my roommate. _

_"Ugh…yeah, yeah I'm o.k." I said. I was feeling very dizzy and the world kept swirling and turning and wouldn't stay still so I could move__ right__. When I tried to move I felt like I was going to fall__, but I wanted to get to bed so I moved my feet in the general direction of the only bed I saw around. I started to move my feet when suddenly I felt like gravity had suddenly started to pull very heavily on me and I felt myself fall forwards…or was it backwards? _

_I closed my eyes and waited for my head to come in contact with the hard wood floor. But when an hour seemed to pass and I felt something comfortingly soft and warm wrapped around me and my head still had not made contact with the floor I opened my eyes slowly…only to gaze into the face of a blushing Chrono. What was he doing on my new soft warm bed. "Go 'way, Kurono, I sleepin'." I mumbled before I snuggled more into the warmth of my new found bed. _

_"You're drunk, aren't you." he said softly, it sounded more like a statement rather than a question. I nodded my head, "Mhmm__, now go 'way. I wanna sleeeep." I slurred out to him._

_Suddenly my new warm bed was pulled out from under me. "Kuroonooo," I whined, "Gi' me back ma bed." I reached up to grab my bed but was pulled up instead and dragged off to my old bed, the one that wasn't warm. I whined, "I wan'__ m__y other bed baaack." _

_I heard him sigh then softly chuckle and say, "Good night. Tomorrow your are going to have a __**terrible **__headache." He chuckled again and I pouted. "Wha' abou' my other bed? I wan__'__ it baaack!" __I whined again. He blushed, I wonder why, all I wanted was my comfortable, soft, warm new bed. _

_"Good Night." He said quickly before turning around and heading towards his bed, his face still beet red for some odd reason. _

_Oh well, guess I won't get to sleep in my new bed tonight, but…I wonder, if I happen to fall again would I get to land on my soft warm bed instead of the cold hard floor…_

And again I wonder if I were to happen to fall would I fall on my soft warm bed or would I smash into the cold hard floor? A braying laughter interrupts my thoughts and I turn to look at whose laughing. It's Genie. No offense, but I don't like that guy, he's kind of creepy and stares at me weird. I mean weird WEIRD. Like he's thinking of doing something nasty to me. I've seen him look like this when he was watching some other people too, Chrono being one of them. I shudder.

"Hey, Joshua, I'm going to go now. My class starts soon." I say and smile brightly at Joshua. I haven't told him who I am yet, and he hasn't recognized me yet, though a lot of his friends say we look a lot alike. Well, we ARE related.

…….

_DING_

_DING_

_DING _

_DING_

I stepped through the door just as the final bell rang, talk about cutting it close. Phew. I walked hurriedly past the front of the room and the teacher who was staring sternly at me, "Cutting it close, aren't we, Christopher?" my thoughts exactly, I nodded and mumbled an apology which he seemed to be happy enough with.

I walked to my normal spot: next to Chrono and the window in the far back corner.

"Are you o.k.?" I asked as I looked at him. He seemed…troubled.

"Uh…uh, yeah." He mumbled and turned towards me with a half-hearted smile.

"Are you sure?" I asked again.

"Yeah. I'm fine." This time he answered quickly, then smiled brightly at me.

Well, if he wasn't o.k. he would tell. Right now he seemed just fine.

I turned to face towards the board, trying hard to pay attention to the teacher. If only I had been paying more attention to Chrono. If I had been, I would have seen him turn his head and stare troubled out into the clear autumn blue sky.

But I didn't.

**--END CHAPTER THREE--**

**A/N: If you have not yet figured out who Chritsopher is, too bad. I'm not going to tell you. O.k...Um...I hope you liked this chapter and leave a review if you can, if I know what peoples' respones are I can write better. **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry it's taking me so long to update. But really, has it been _that_ long since I last updated. Well, whatever. Also I want to thank the reviewers: snekochan, ****Synonymous Brian, MisoGirl, and Ur Fan XD, and rosetteXchrono 4ever. And to answer both your question, yes, I'm a guy, and I'll take what you say as a compliment. Oh, also, I'll add another chapter to atone for _taking soooo long. _**

* * *

(Chrono's POV) 

"Fine." I say. I have just agreed to 'go out' with Aion Rennis, if only to make Rozet jealous.

I turn around about to leave his room when he says, "Get me a cup of water."

So what else could I do but get him his cup of water. I get him the cup of water and hand it to him. He takes it then looks at it, takes a sip and splashes it on me. "Hey! Wh—" but I'm cut off when he looks indifferently at me and says, "That cup was too cold. Get me a new one." I don't know what to say so I just do as he says and gets him a new one. This time he looks at me then the cup in his hand. He takes a sip. I bite my bottom lip, hoping he will say it's fine and I can go now…but I hope in vain as he again splashes me with the water but this time throwing the glass onto the wooden floor and making it break into a million pieces.

"What was that for!?" I suddenly yell, unable to contain the anger within me.

He punches me in the jaw and I fall backwards stunned. He towers above now sneering triumphantly, "Don't you dare raise your voice on me. Don't forget I can hurt you—or your little Christopher—and I would get away with it." I back away because I know what he says is true. He could kill me, or Rozet, right now without a second thought and the school wouldn't give a damn. I was just an unimportant, replaceable student like a hundred others in this school. But Aion Rennis, his father was one of the school's biggest benefactors, the school might close if not for him, and it would be better to stay on the benefactors' good side, so they wouldn't bat an eyelash and just tell the police it was suicide. And…and Christopher Rozet. I would never let him get hurt on my account. Not because of something I did. Never.

He sneers and says in a low voice, his glasses glinting in the suns' setting light, "Beg for forgiveness, Chrono." I stare stunned up at him. I hear the door open and turn around just in time to see a boot kick into my ribs. I fall over onto my side, grabbing at my chest and trying to breath in. That was definitely going to leave a mark. I gag and try to replace the wind that has been knocked out of me.

When I finally regain my breath I look up and find Genie looking back at me.

"Started without me, I see."

"I just couldn't wait." Aion says, now also looking at Genie, sarcasm thickly laced into his voice. I look around for the door so I can try and sneak away somehow. But, the problem is, the door is on the other side of the room and Aion and Genie are right in front of me, blocking me from my only possible means escape.

They sneer at each other. Is it just me, or do those two sneer a lot? Aion grabs my shirt collar and lifts me off the floor, not to mention I am very light, I look at him in the face…which is how I miss his hand—fist—coming in contact with my stomach. For a moment I see bright sparks of light, like stars, but then I see normally again. And what I see is not good. I'm on the ground now, my back pushing against the wall I wish I could disappear into, and a foot is swinging at me. I'm kicked square in the chest. But that is only the first of the many following kicks that land themselves on my chest. I curl into a ball and wait for it to stop.

The kicking finally stops and I say in a voice barely above a whisper, "What…What did I…ever do to you?" but I am heard it's so quiet.

"You were born." Aion hisses lowly, not turning around from where he is turned, then he orders me in a voice at normal volume to pick up the glass. When I hesitate to do as he orders he reminds me, "Don't forget I can hurt _him._" we both know who _him_ is. Christopher Rozet.

I promptly start to pick up the said glass. The glass that I've already picked up is in my left hand, which is resting on the floor, my right hand is picking up the pieces of glass that is strewn about next to the recliner. Abruptly I feel a sharp pain in my closed left hand. Genie's foot is on my hand and the glass is digging into my flesh. I feel the glass cut into my skin but I grit my teeth and don't say anything as he passes by and feigns an innocent smile saying, "Opps. Sorry. Accident." I finish picking up the remaining pieces of glass and walk towards the only trash can I see. My hand is dripping blood now, but I don't care. I just want to get out of here and wake up to find this was all some horrible dream.

I move quickly now to the door and turn the doorknob but before I can step out I'm hit hard in the calf with something. I stagger but don't dare to look behind me. I walk quickly away from building G room 310 and across the grass, trees, and sidewalk towards my own dorm building and to the comfort of my room. Room 450.

I knock with my left hand, forgetting it is hurt, and wince and walk in when I hear no answer.

I look around to see if Christopher's asleep. He's not even here. 'Thank God.' I think as I think of the horrified look on his face if he saw me like this and all the questions he would ask. I would never be able to answer them all. At least not very honestly.

The thought of him worrying about me makes me smile inwardly and feel comforted somehow, but I know. I know he'd never worry about someone like me, even if I worry so much about him. It's just one-sided worry…unrequited…love?

Now, in the safety my dorm room I can fully examine the wounds inflicted on me by Aion and Genie. I take off my shirt and look at my self in the mirror. There's nothing serious I can see, I have some—scratch that—a lot of bruises on my body. The majority of the bruises are on my chest and back, then some on my legs and arms, I'm seriously going to hurt for a while. I notice that my left hand is still bleeding so I look at it. It's still bleeding but I don't think it's as bad as it looks.

I'll just go down to the infirmary and ask for some bandages.

…..

"Ah, Chrono Daemon. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. How did you do this to your hand?"

I looked at the man who had asked me that, Father Ewan Remington my math teacher, who apparently also works in the infirmary in the evenings.

"Oh. This? Uh…" I couldn't tell him 'oh Genie just stepped on my hand when I was picking up glass after he and Aion beat me up.' of course I couldn't, "It was…an accident. I was just picking up glass and…accidently cut myself." Well that was about half true so I wasn't totally lying.

He smiles warmly at me, "Well, just make sure you don't do that again, O.k.?" I nod my head, "O.k. good. Would you like some water?" I nod again, "Then you wait here and I'll go up front and get you a cup of water." He says as he finishes tying up the gauze bandage on my hand and gets up.

As soon as I see him disappear I turn back to the shelves stacked with more gauze bandages. I grab five random rolls of the bandages and stuff them into my backpack. I have a feeling I'm going to need them.

Father Remington is back with a cup of water which he hands to me. I take it and drink slowly, trying to act inconspicuous. When I finish with the water I thank him slinging my back pack over my right shoulder then tell him I'll throw the cup away on my way out. I put on a smile and walk out.

…..

"Kurono?" a slurred voice say. Then I hear the door to my room creak shut.

I get up to see if it's Rozet. It is. And it smells like he's had one too many drinks. Again. This is not the first time this has happened since he started hanging out with Joshua and his friends. And not for the first time either I wonder what kind of influence Joshua and his friends have on Rozet. Rozet doesn't seem the drinking type and he always complains to me on how horrible the beer and alcohol taste so why would he drink? He usually ends up throwing up and getting a horrible hangover in the morning, too.

"Rozet-a?" I question, "Did you drink again?"

"Kurono? Mmh. Yeah. Jus' a little" he says. Not by the way he's talking. I hurry towards him as he starts stumbling towards my bed.

_OMMFFF_

I catch him just in time, but in the process I have fallen onto my back as Rozet lands on top of me. Quite a compromising position, and a familier one too. I remember the first time he got drunk. He came home and fell on top of me too, then.

"Mm thanks…for the bed…Kurono." He mumbles as he snuggles into my chest. And I think, 'yep, definitely familiar.' I smile inwardly but know this won't last so I get up and pull him up with me. I put one of his arms around my shoulder and try to lift him the rest of the way towards his bed. And considering I'm not that much taller than Rozet this was quite the difficult task.

"Kurono," he whined, I smiled, "Gi' me back my bed." Well, how was I to do that when I was the supposed 'bed' he was talking about?

"Kurono," he drawled out my name, "Please," he emphasized, "Please gi' me back ma nice, sof' bed back." I blushed, but when I didn't offer a response he continued, "C'mon gi' me ma bed back…" he paused a moment then offered, "If you gi' it back I'll sleep with you." I blushed darker then before. He was indeed very, _very_ drunk.

I dropped him onto his bed and fixed his blanket on him, I could still hear him whining about my taking his 'nice, warm, soft bed' away. Oh, well. He would forget all this in the morning.

"Good Night… my Rozet-a." I say not being able to resist adding 'my.'

"Good nigh'." He says, a sad pout on his lips. I'm tempted to give him back his 'bed.' But decide against it quickly, thinking of the consequences.

I stumble across the room towards my bed and I feel a pang of pain sharply slice across my chest where Rozet had landed on my chest. 'Well, at least I was right on needing more bandages.' I think as I look through the bottom of my drawer for a roll of bandage. When I find one I pull it out and hide it in my pants pocket then walk out of the room towards the boys' bathroom. I don't want Rozet to wake up and find me bandaging myself then asking questions. Questions I know I won't be able to answer truthfully, if at all.

……

--Next Morning--

"Chrono?" he asked tiredly as I walked into my room after having brushed my teeth.

"Yeah?" I ask.

"Ugh…I have a _horrible_ headache." He emphasized 'horrible.' I chuckle and say, "Well, that's what you get for drinking so much."

"Hmph." Then his eyes widen as he looks over at me and he says, "Chrono…" so softly I think I must have imagined it but he repeats my name again, "Chrono…what-what did you do to your hand? Why is it all bandaged like that?"

Surprised by the question I look down at my hand then hurriedly hide it behind my back, "Oh?" I ask, "What do you mean?" I play dumb, maybe he'll lay off that subject…but it doesn't work like it's supposed to, instead Rozet gets up, frowning angrily, and marches up to me then harshly grabs my left hand from behind my back and pulls it up so it's level with our faces. "This." He says tightening his hold on my hand, 'ouch' I think but don't say anything, "What. Did. You. Do. To. Your. Hand?"

I look confusedly at him. I don't understand why he's so worried. "Oh?" I say softly, "That? It's…nothing." He stares intently into my eyes, it feels like he's searching my soul for the truth, "I-I just c-cut it a-accidently w-when I was p-picking up some b-broken glass." I half lied, turning to face away from him, for some reason it is much harder to lie to him than to Father Remington. This gesture seems to have saddened Rozet for he has let go of my hand and is now looking away, a sad scowl etched into his face. I want to tell him the truth, I really do, but I know it will do more harm than good, "R-really, Rozet, i-it's nothing t-to worry a-about."

"Fine." He says softly, still turned away, "But promise…"

"Yes?" I ask.

"Promise," he continues, "that you won't hurt yourself…purposely, and… that you will tell me the truth…sometime."

Surprised, I ask, "Why?"

"Because I hate being lied to…" He said, only answering half of my question, "I'd rather take the truth, good or bad, I'd rather live with the knowledge than without it. You never know, it may come in useful one day." He says, then laughs bitterly, "I learned that the hard way." he says quietly so I won't hear, but I do and I wonder what happened in his past.

_RIINNNGGG _

_RIIIINNNNGGG_

_RIIINNGGG_

I look around for the source of the sound. Rozet shuffles through his backpack and pulls out a ringing cell phone.

"Hello?" he asks. Then his face contorts in surprise or anger, I don't know which. And with that his promise is forgotten.

"Why did you call so early, _Mother_?" he asks, his voice thickly laced with sarcasm, then looks at me and turns around. For privacy I guess.

In a hushed tone he says, "No. I'm not coming back. _Satella_, don't ask me why I'm doing this. You and I both know why." What is he talking about? I know I'm not supposed to be listening but I listen anyway. "No!" he shouts, I pretend to have just suddenly turned my attention to him, he blushes and mouths 'sorry' then continues talking in hushed tones to the person on the phone.

"You can't do that. I'm so close. You already have _them_searching for me." he pulls the phone away from his ear and looks annoyed at it, "Yes," He says sheepishly, "I do remember that I'm the…heir," He says insistently, "and I promise that when you find me I'll come back. Without a fight." He insists, "but…I have to know the truth. I have to know why…I have to. You know why I'm doing this. I've told you so many times before if I tell you again you would probably get sick." He chuckles, then softly he says with a somber face, "I was so good, though. I tried so hard, you know. I tried my hardest. And…he left." There's a long pause, "Yes. Thank you for agreeing to my terms, Satella. You know you are like my family don't you?" there's another pause, "Yeah, of course I'm going to keep my promise, Christopher's never break a promise made to either friend or foe." He chuckles again, "Yeah. O.k. bye."

I immediately turn my head around and start digging through my backpack. I can feel his eyes on my back so I turn around, "That your mother?" I ask.

He rubs his neck, "You can say that." I don't understand but I don't ask him what he means, instead I turn on the T.V. when he walks out of the room to go brush his teeth, and wonder who this Satella person is. Maybe it's her sister? Oh, well, I'll ask her someday, maybe. I turn to watch the news. Today is Monday, we have late classes and I have nothing better to do so Good Morning America it is.

_"Now we go to __Diane Sawyer for the __progress report for our feature story__ on the disappearance of the heiress to__ the jewel and fashion__ company, Jewel Witch__ I__ncorporated__." _

_"That was Sam Champion with the weather. Thank you, Sam. And now for the __progress report on our feature story__But__ for those of you who haven't been following the sto__ry, the heiress to Jewel Witch I__ncorporated had suddenly gone missing three weeks ago __yesterday __from her San Francisco home__, just before she was to start school again__. At the time the present president to Jewel Witch Incorporated was __out at a conference in Brazil__. At first it was thought that she was kidnapped but after one week of no ransom note__ or any signs at the home of forced entry, __police __now think she has run away. The president of the company thinks this i__s more likely because she say, '__My daughter has learned and earned a black belt in kung fu amongst that, she has also learned many other forms of martial arts. I believe my daughter has a sharp mind, too, and it would be close to impossible to force her__ into submission.'"_

_"The current president of Jewel Witch Incorporated, Miss Harvenheit, has also just requested that no news or information station should give out her daughters' name, which is very well because Miss Harvenheit has done a very good job at concealing __the heiress__ n__ame or whereabouts since birth. She said she was only forced to reveal her that her daughter was missing because she was truly worried for her safety. She also said that now that ther__e are no signs of forced entry she is not quite so worried anymore. She says she knows her daughter will come home when she is ready BUT she says that if when her daughter comes home she has been harmed in any way, the person who hurt her will greatly regret it."_

_"So far, though, there has been no sign of Miss Harvenheit's daughter. Nor are there any sightings of her. She certainly is good is __at __concealing her trail if she ran away. We wish Miss Harvenheit the best and hope she finds her daughter soon. And if you're out there__ watching this__, Miss __Harvenheits__' daughter, please stay well and get home to your mother soon. She__ asks u__s to tell you that she greatly misses you and that she also hopes you will come home soon. This is Diane Sawyer—"_

I turn off the T.V. and look at the calendar on the wall, it says: September 17, 2007. So she disappeared on September 2nd. I look at my alarm clock, it reads: 7:24 a.m. Classes would start soon. I had to get my stuff together. I bent down to look under my bed for anything I might have misplaced and felt a pang like a knife had gone through my hand. I ignored it, instead looking for the textbooks I was pretty sure I had stuffed under there. What a coincidence that Rozet would arrive right after that rich persons' daughter disappeared. But there are no such things as coincidences, are there.

**--CHAPTER FOUR END--**

**A/N: Um...about the name thing. Chrono will explain himself in the next few chapters, hopefully. Christopher Rozet will also be known, and mostly called, by Chrono: Rozet-a. The little 'a' will hopefully also be explained in the next chapters. Also, when it's Rosette's POV it will say (Rozet's POV) at the top, instead of (Christopher's POV) hopefully that doesn't confuse you guys too much. Hope you guys liked this chapter and...Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: O.k. here's the atonement chapter. And I was meaning to ask: do you guys like the new summary or do you think I should change it back to the old one...anyways here's the next chapter, hope you like it!**

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(Rozet's POV)

Chrono sat beside me, in his usual seat: in the very far back corner next to the window, and I sat in my usual seat: next to him. 'Why has he been acting so strange since three weeks ago?' I thought to myself, 'I asked a simple enough question, but he stuttered…and lied. What was he hiding? I hope he isn't hurting himself.'

"Ugh…" I murmured under my breath. My head was _KILLING_ me. 'Stupid! Stupid me! Why did I drink so much last night when I knew there was going to be school this morning?' I scolded myself for asking a dumb question like that. Of course I knew why I drank so much. I drank to impress Joshua.

But…I can't remember how I got into bed last night. It was like this too, every other time I got drunk starting three weeks ago: I always remember going into my room, then a soft warm comfortable bed…then…somebody said, "Goodnight… my Rosette."? Who would know who I really am? Nobody should know. Was it just Chrono calling me by my supposed last name? He does have a strange habit of calling me Rozet-a. Although I like that about him, that he calls me Rozet-a, because it makes me feel like still know who I am, why does he call me that? If it was Chrono, though, why did he call me _his_ Rozet-a?

I looked over at Chrono who was scowling at his left hand. His hurt hand. He didn't look like the type of boy he would be daring enough to call another supposed boy, his. But looks can be deceiving I've learned. So I won't judge him just yet.

I've just noticed, Sister Claire asked us to take notes because the next quiz will an open notes quiz. I look up from the hurried scrawling I've just put into my notebook and see that Chrono is scowling still at his left hand. I wonder why? It is only his left hand after all. But as I watch him he picks up his pencil with his right hand and clumsily begins to also scrawl down notes. I lean over to look at what he's writing…or if he's writing.

All I can see is a bunch of sharp kind of curvy lines that I suppose is supposed to be cursive writing.

"Pss…" I whisper, "Pss…Chrono." He looks up, startled, when I call his name. He looks at me with his innocent looking eyes and tilts his head to the side a little and says in a breath, "Hmm?"

I don't say anything for what seems far longer than a minuet and just stare into his deep scarlet eyes, then I study his face, he really does look so innocent with his face that still seems to hold it's babyish fat and his violet hair falling messily around his face, his pink lips and short stature along with that long amethyst hair could make him pass for a cute girl, if not a pre-pubescent boy.

"Wh-what's wrong?" I finally ask.

He cocks his head to the side in a question, "With what?"

"With your hand. You usually write better than me." I whisper.

"Oh." He says, then looks, scoldingly, at his right hand which is holding the pencil, "This hand isn't my dominant hand. I write with my left hand."

I look surprised at him. I didn't know he wrote with his left hand. "Well. Do you want me to take notes for you?" I ask, since I don't think even he can read his own hand writing right now.

He looks gratefully to me and says in hushed relieved voice, "Yes. Thanks." I lean over and grab his notebook I smile when he looks at me, "No problem."

…...

_DING_

_DING _

_DING _

_DING_

It was the end of third period. Now Chrono and I go to different classes. I head off to my science class. Ugh… I am dreading the class already. We have a perverted teacher for that class, he didn't tell us his name, just told us to call him Elder. So we do. He really is quite a cool teacher, if he didn't act so perverted he wouldn't be such a bad teacher to have.

I about to turn the corner when I hear a yell. I start running in the direction of the yelling, maybe someone got hurt. When I get to the source of the yell it is a girl the is Elder trying to grope at with a short dark blue-black bob and round glasses on, she has fake cat ears on her head, and she is yelling at the elder to move away from her. I run up to them and get between the elder and the girl. The elder looks surprised at my actions as more students seem to pass by without a second glance at this scene and others stand around and watch us with interested eyes, as if anticipating a fight.

"Stop, Elder." I say in my calmest voice as my eyes blaze at him.

He looks eve more surprised at this then starts laughing, "A little feminist, I see." Then he looks at me again and sees my eyes are still blazing at him, "Alright Mr. Rozet. I get your point, now let's go to class before we get ourselves late." then he looks at the girl behind me, "Bye, Shader. Don't be late to your next class."

When he turns to go in the classroom I turn around to look at the girl behind me, "Stupid, senile old man." She mutters. I fight the want to laugh and instead ask, "Are you alright?"

She looks at me with calculating eyes than her eyes soften and she smiles cheerfully saying, "Yeah. Thanks. Who are you by the way?"

"Oh. Your welcome…but I thought this was an all boys school, so why are you here?" I didn't mean to sound rude or anything but why was a girl going to school here. I really wanted to know.

"Oh, that!" then she starts laughing, "I'm not a student here. I'm a teacher, probably one of the only woman teachers here who isn't a nun. I teach science here, too. Name's Shader, by the way"

I blanched in surprise, she was a…teacher? She looked _WAY_ too young to be even out of high school.

She laughed at the surprise on my face, "You thought I was a student, too, huh?" I nodded. "Well I'm twenty four, trust me, I'm old enough to be a teacher." I nodded dumbly again. She laughed and said, "Now. You better get to class before you're late."

I was starting to walk away when she called, "Hey! Hey! Wait!" I turned around, she was looking at me, "Yes?" I asked.

"You didn't tell me who you are." She said.

"Oh. Um, my name's Christopher Rozet." I said.

I turned around and started towards my class, if I didn't hurry I would be late. But as I walked away I swear I heard Shader mumble, "But, I asked you who you were…not your name."

……

_DING _

_DING _

_DING_

_DING_

_DING _

It was the end of the day, FINALLY. I waited for Chrono at the door. But when he finally packed up all his things and looked up to see me still standing by the door, he gave me a look of such surprise it hurt me.

"Oh, Rozet-a, you're still here…" he says.

Suddenly curious I ask, "Chrono, why do you call me Rozet, and not Christopher?" I thought I saw a pained look cross his face but when I blinked it was replaced by a blank mask that revealed nothing, I must have imagined it.

"Do you mind that I call you Rozet-a?" he asks softly.

I don't even have to think about it for a minuet, "Of course not. I just wanted to know to why you call me Rozet and not Christopher."

"Oh?" he says, then gets up and walks past me. I notice he still hasn't answered my question. Wonder why? Oh, well I won't push it then. He seems to be in a hurry to get somewhere. So I ask, "Where are you going?"

The question makes him pause for a moment, but he seems to recover quickly and hurry away, acting as though he didn't hear me. Hmm…trying to ignore me is he. Pissed off, I yell loud enough that I know he would have heard me, "Chrono! Where are you going!?"

Now he seems to have heard me. He turns around as if this is the first time he heard me ask him, and tilts his head to the side in that innocent way of his. "Yes?" he asks.

Angrily puffing I say again as I run up alongside him, "I asked you where you're going."

"Oh." He says, he's starting to annoy me with this sudden evasive, secretive side of him, "Me? I'm going…" he looks as if he's thinking of something, then suddenly looks at me with fear clearly written across his face, "I'm going to the church for a bit." He says hurriedly, then looks straight into my eyes, somehow pleading with me not to ask anymore into this. Instead he says, "So you're going to go Joshua's tonight. Oh, don't forget to study, quiz tomorrow." It wasn't even a question to him that I was going to Joshua. He doesn't wait for me to reply and hurriedly runs out the door.

'Yes, he is definitely starting to annoy me with that sudden evasive, secretive side of him.' I scratched my head in frustration. 'Why the hell was he being so secretive now? First there was his hand, then there was why he kept calling me Rozet-a, and now with him always being so secretive about where he was going. And, also…why did he look so…scared when he looked at me a moment ago.'

Oh, well. He must just not want me to know. I am, after all, not even that close to him. I didn't even know he was left handed until today. And this was my resolve to get to know him better. He seemed shy, but he accepted me. He saw me get drunk, which I know he doesn't like, but he didn't judge me because of it. And when he saw he'd hit a sore spot for me, he'd immediately back off. He seems to understand everything I do, and doesn't question it. He was…a good friend, and I don't even know him. I wonder how well he knows me.

…….

It's almost nine and raining hard outside and Chrono isn't back yet. How strange. He usually isn't this late, well, when I'm here this early that is. I should probably go look for him, or get something for him to eat when he comes back. I should probably do that, he might be hungry when he comes back if he went to the church for this long.

Though I doubt he really went to the church, I get up and grab some money. I didn't save up a thousand and five hundred dollars of allowance for nothing.

……

When I get back from looking around campus for Chrono and getting a sandwich and milk from the canteen, I put my umbrella next to the door and look up to see Chrono lying in his bed, sound asleep, none of his blankets around anywhere. I put the food on the table and walk up to his bed. His face is tear streaked and contorted with pain, and on his right cheek there is a small white square bandage.

'What did he do? Why does he have on another bandage? And…was he…crying?' I wonder as I extend a hand to touch his bandage. But when I touched his right cheek lightly he leans into my hand and snuggles into it. I decide to kneel down and watch him sleep a little. I leave my hand where it is on his cheek and lay my head down on the side of his bed.

I'm starting to get sleepy and my eyes are starting to droop close when I suddenly feel something warm and wet on my hand, surprised, I decide to investigate what it is, hoping that it is just saliva.

What I see when I look at his face alarms me. Tears are running down his face, his eyes still closed, his bangs cling tightly to his forehead, and his cheeks are red, and I don't know if that is sweat or tears running into his hair. Scared, I pull my hand away from his cheek and lay it lightly on his forehead.

Somehow I'm not surprised that he has a fever. A very high one at that. I look down at his body and for the first time notice he is soaked, today was a cold day and our rooms don't have much heat, he doesn't have his blankets either, it's no wonder he has a fever.

I take my hand away from him and head back towards my bed. I grab two blankets, one thin, one thick, and a hair dryer and towel and head back towards his bed.

As I'm about to prop him up and drying him off with the hair dryer and towel when I hear him say, "My Rozet-a…" in a choked voice. What he said startled me so much I stopped what I was doing and looked into his face. His eyes were still tightly closed with tears slipping out, but his hand went to touch his cheek where my hand had been.

I take my hand and lay it gently on top of his, 'he seems so fragile, almost like glass.' I thought.

He seems to have noticed my hand is on top of his for he then takes his hand out from under mine and lays it on top of mine. He again snuggles into my hand and chokes out a sigh, tears momentarily stopping their flow down his face. I seem to have stopped breathing and my heart seems about ready to fly out of my chest as he did this innocent little action.

I find it hard to pull my hand away from his so I leave it there, instead using my left hand to get the dryer on. I blush, he'll need to take off his shirt…and pants and change. I blush even harder. I have just realized something, if he stays in this wet bed, he won't get better. I groan inwardly, my bed it is, then.

As I lift him up I notice he is kind of light, well, for a boy that is. And since he is so light I can carry him bridal style. I blush, yet again, and realize a little of how he must have felt every time he needed to help me get into bed. Thank goodness he didn't need to help change my clothes.

I prop him up against my bed and go to his drawer to get a pair of his pajamas for him. All I find is a light blue pair with dark blues vertical strips on it, the shirt is a button up and the clothes seem way too big for Chrono. I smell the clothes, they smell like they haven't been washed or worn in forever.

I go through my drawer next, looking for something clean that might fit Chrono. I choose my favorites; a pair that's dark blue and has little shining stars and moons across it, on the back of the shirt is a bright gold colored sun, and written on the front right side of the button up shirt it says:

'There's no such thing as a night that never ends;

No matter how long the night is…

No matter how long the darkness lasts…

The Sun will always rise.

See? 

Even now...

The morning sun is at our backs, 

Urging us on...'

I pick it up and bring it back towards my bed where Chrono is now shivering. I hesitate on whether I should really change him.

Deciding there is nothing else I can do, I tug at his pants and pull them off, relieved to find that he's wearing boxers. I slip the pants on over his small form and start on his shirt. I pull his shirt up and over his head. I look at the alarm clock on my desk and am unhappily surprised when I find it reads: 11:59 p.m. I must have fallen asleep when I was lying next to Chrono.

A pang of guilt strikes me. 'I might have been able to prevent this. I shouldn't have fallen asleep.' I feel tears prickle at my eyes. 'This must have been why Joshua decided to be adopted instead of staying with me, because I didn't take good care of him. I should've noticed that Chrono was wet. I should've immediately dried him off. I should've given him a blanket at least.'

Tears were now starting to leak out of my eyes as I finally got his shirt off and began to dry him off with the towel. Tears of guilt and worry. I pulled Chrono towards me and slipped his arms through the long sleeves of the shirt. I gently laid him back against the bed and started to button up his shirt. My tears were coming down heavily now, like a waterfall washing over the edge of cliff into an endless bottom…but my tears landed on Chrono. This was the most I had cried since Joshua left. I had promised I would never again cry. Especially in front of people. So nobody could see how weak I was, how vulnerable I could be. Because I've learned that if you show someone your sore spot they'll use that knowledge against you. My memory flashed back to the day Joshua told me he agreed to be adopted…

_"Hey…Sis," Joshua said softly. _

_"Yeah?" I asked._

_"I'm…going to…" He paused._

_"What are you going to?" I asked._

_"I agreed to…being…adopted." He said. I sat up. 'He must just be kidding.' I thought, even as I knew he would never kid about something like this._

_"Y-you're kidding…right?" I ask, hoping I'm right. _

_"No." he says solidly, "I'__m not kidding, Rosette. I really agreed to be adopted. I can have a family now." _

_I stared aghast at him, "Aren't I are your family?" I croaked out. _

_He stares at me with calculating eyes, "Hardly, by blood, yes. But no, you aren't my family, now I can I have real family." He smiles wistfully, "I can have a loving mother, a caring father, and a brother who can protect me now." _

_That's a punch at my ego and he knows it, I've always done everything I could to protect him, to make sure we never got separated, to make sure he never got hurt. Even going so far as to __sell one of the pair of gold lockets Mother and Father gave me so I could pay for his medicine when he got really sick.__ Maybe I've been selfish all these years and I haven't seen what he really want__ed._

_"I'm leaving tomorrow." He says out of the blue. _

_Tears start in my eyes. He looks at me and says, "Oh, please, Rosette, grow up. You can't protect me, you're hardly older than me and your a girl, too, it's supposed to be the other way around. The boy protects the girl. We can't stay in the orphanage forever either. And how do you plan to pay for my medicine in the future? You know the cost is raising and the payment for that cheap locket of yours won't be enough to pay for it. What are you going to do then? Sell your body to some old perverted ma—"_

_I slapped him across the face, "Joshua, you know I love you, I would do anything to protect you. But I would never do that." I was angry and disappointed and sad, "How dare you think so lowly of me. It was my misjudgment that you even knew me. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, like you wanted. I'm sorry I couldn't have been born a boy so I could protect you right. I'm so sorry." Then I ran away from the little forest clearing where we had been playing just a few days ago._

The morning after when I woke up he was gone. Without a trace. A few days after Satella came and picked me up. Tears of sadness mixed in with my tears of guilt as I finished buttoning the shirt. Suddenly I felt two soft hands cup my cheeks and wipe away the tears that kept replacing themselves. I looked up into the face of…

"Chrono…?" I whispered in question.

I quickly pulled back and started wiping away my tears but they kept replacing themselves, like a never-ending waterfall. Because of this I didn't notice the pained look that crossed Chrono's face. I suddenly felt two warm arms wrap themselves around me and when I looked up I noticed I had been pulled against Chronos' warm chest.

"It's alright. Laugh when you're happy and cry when you want to cry because afterwards it will be easier to laugh again." he said finishing in a voice just above a whisper. Then I notice his head is also leaning against my shoulder. I have totally forgotten that Chrono has a fever.

"Rozet-a…" I hear him whisper as I pull him onto the bed. I crawl up after him and lay beside him, the blanket pulled up to our noses. I turn to face the other way and sleep. But my night is fitful and I toss and turn, finally I find my comfortable place…on top of the nice warm bed that I usually find myself on only when I'm drunk and start to fall.

**--END CHAPTER FIVE--**

**A/N: Anyone know where the quote on Rozet's pajama top came from? Anyone who can tell me gets...something. And about the last sentence Chrono says, I'm not sure if that's the exact words, but hopefully it's close enough. And you don't need to tell me, I know it's originally said by Rosette, but whatever, we'll just overlook that for now. Oh, and of course...REVIEW!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Nobody told me if the new summary thing was okay...so I'm assuming it is(?). I don't know if this chapter is really good. I think my writing is getting worse...more...boring(?). I don't know. It's acutally one of the reasons why I'm writing fanfic, because my writing was really horrible so I thought I should practice...and look where it got me. Enjoy!(hopefully)**

* * *

CHAPTER 6 

(Chrono's POV)

"Nnng…" I groaned, I tried getting up but there was a strange unidentified weight on top of me, oddly warm and comfortable though. My head throbbed as I tried sitting and I closed my eyes and deciding it would be better to stay lying down on the bed. I pulled my arm up to cover my eyes.

That's when I noticed I was not in the same clothes as I feel 'asleep' in yesterday. What I have on is a dark blue long sleeve button up shirt with little golden stars and moons all over. I notice on the right flap of the shirt there are some scrawled words. But I can't read what it says because there is a piece of black cloth covering it.

Wondering what the black cloth is I reach towards it to pull at it but am stopped when I feel the weight on chest. Now curious as to what _that_ was I pulled the blanket down a little ways to reveal…golden locks spewing every which way and hands fisting around my shirt and clutching onto my chest. Getting a little scared I lifted the locks to the side and peeked at the face of the person lying on top of me

"ROZET-A!" I exclaimed forcing myself onto my hands and backing away, trying to put more distance between him and me.

He gets up on his knees and rubs his eyes tiredly. The sun coming in through the window at an odd angle causes his hair to light up so it looks like I have just woken the most beautiful angel.

"Hmm…Chrono?" he said in a too-girly sounding voice, his eyes lifting tiredly to look at me, one still covered by his hand rubbing at it.

But then his eyes widened and he pulled his hand down from his eyes and it seemed like realization processed on his face as he looked around; he was still straddling my waist and only a feet or so away from my face, these beds were quite small, after all, and I couldn't get very far.

He blushed madly when he saw the position he was in, and tried to scramble off the bed but, being him, tripped over the sheets and almost ended up face-first on the floor had I not caught him. But catching him made me unbalanced so I pulled him into my chest, to keep us both from falling head first onto the hard wood floor. Did I also mention, not only are these beds very small they are also kind of high off the ground and falling face first onto the hard wood floor wasn't exactly the first thing you would want to experience right in the morning.

He looked up at me and blushed, "Uh-um…Chrono…you can let go now."

With a strange amount of great reluctance I let him go and he scooted away, turning his burning face away from mine. Then seeming to have just remembered something he turned around, blush entirely gone from his face replaced by a worried frown. 'Is he worried about me?' I wondered why.

He reaches a hand toward me…but I back away. He frowns but instead of coming closer he orders in a whisper, "Chrono, come here."

Inwardly happy I scoot slowly towards him as to not show too much excitement.

He reaches a hand towards my face, and I'm wondering what he is doing. He places a hand on my forehead and his frown deepens.

"What's wrong, Rozet-a?" I ask curiously.

"You should stay home from school today, Chrono. You're still burning up."

"I feel fine." I lie because now that he mentions it my pain has started up again, amplified to ten times worse than before; my head is pounding, it feels like there is a hammer inside my temples trying to break my skull, and I feel cold _AND_ hot. And it just had to be this moment that my teeth decided to start chattering all on their own from the strange cold, my arms subconsciously go up to wrap around my chest and fruitlessly try to keep the strange cold from entering. Suddenly it felt too hot, like I fire is trying to burn me from the inside out, beads of sweat form on my forehead and neck, dripping down my face as I shut my eyes tightly and try to curl up into a ball, all but forgetting that Rozet is still here, and knows that I just lied to him.

"See." He says, announcing his presence, "You still have a high fever. I'll tell the teachers that you won't be in class today." he says. Then he gets up pulling the blanket over me and says, "But, I have to go now, Chrono. I'll get you some food."

He gets all ready for the day, changing into his uniform, combing his shoulder length honey-blonde hair and pulling half of it back into a ponytail but leaving the bottom half undone, than packing his things into his backpack. He walks over to me and puts his hand on my forehead again, and then he turns to the side seemingly contemplating something.

I barely register my hand reaching out to grab the shirt-tails of his uniform through all my pain, I notice he turns around but don't notice why. When I finally do notice, which is almost five minutes later, I pull my hand away, stop whimpering, which is what caused him to turn around in the first place, and mumble an apology as I turn to face away from him and curl back into my ball.

'I don't want this, I don't want his pity.' I think silently to my self, 'I want Rozet-a's…love.' Which I know is something I'll never get from him, he'll think I'm some sort of perverted faggot…the strange thing is, though, that I only feel this way towards him and nobody else, he is the only guy I see as a girl…I girl I would risk my life for. I chuckle bitterly at the irony of it all, I was continually risking my life by going back to Aion and he wasn't even a girl, as tears of both the sadness of knowing he'll never love me and the physical pain I'm in fall from my eyes.

I hear the door close and more tears run down my face mixing with my sweat as I feel more despair from him abandoning me in this state. But I would never admit it. I would much rather have him pity me than hate me for being in love with him; that would be too much to bare. I start whimpering, subconsciously.

Suddenly I feel my bangs being pulled back from my face as soft palms reach up to caress my cheeks. I stiffen and my tears stop running. I pull away from the caring hands, not caring who it is.

The hand leaves and my tears come again, my bangs falling back into place on my forehead. I know I'm whimpering pathetically but I can't stop. I'm shivering from the cold and burning from the heat, I pull my arm up to wipe away the tears and sweat around my face.

A hand stops me, instead wiping a cool cloth across my face, "Shh…Chrono…Shh…don't cry, I'm here. I hear Rozet's soft voice.

I turn around to see if it's really him. It is. My red rimmed eyes grow in size as I look up into his face.

"What? Did you really think I would leave you here when you were this sick?" he asks.

I nod my head slowly and he looks down at me. "You really did, huh?" he says, the hurt clearly showing in his cerulean blue eyes. I would do anything to keep from seeing him look like that because of me…so I do the thing that comes to mind first…I wrap my arms around his neck, burying myself in the crook of his neck, strangely enough he doesn't have an Adam's apple, like most guys. I cry softly into his neck and don't notice when I have fallen asleep, my arms still wrapped tightly around his neck.

…….

When I next wake up I am alone.

'It must have been a dream.' I think sadly, 'I wish I never woke up from it.'

My head is still pounding, my body still sweating and shivering furiously from the seemingly endless cold and heat. Well, it's quite easy to see how I deluded myself into that dream when I'm in this condition. I sigh heavily but my sigh ends in a whimper as my head pounds, wanting to be let out of the safety of my skull.

"So, Chrono, you decided you could skip school today, huh?" I stiffen immediately. 'Oh, please let this just be a nightmare. Please.' I beg to whichever deity was listening.

Apparently none were listening because Aion stands in front of the bed, solid as a brick wall. I groan.

"Oh. Don't be like that. Aren't you happy to see me?" he sneers down and I shrink away trying to get farther from him. But as I have mentioned, these beds are quite small.

"So," he speaks nonchalantly, "Why were you and Christopher _BOTH_ not in class this morning? Had a little rendezvous did you? You're not as innocent as you look, huh?"

He leans forward and smiles into my face, "Maybe I'm so jealous," he threatens, "I'll just have to…_get rid_…of the competition."

"N-no." I whimper, "Don't—don't hurt Rozet-a."

"And why shouldn't I?" he whispers.

"Just—just don't. Please." I'm begging now. He slaps me across the face. My cheek burns.

"Beg me." he says, though I'm already begging him.

I know better than to go against what he says so I whimper, "I-I'm begging you. P-please don't—don't hurt Rozet-a."

He only smirks, knowing he has won and I would do anything he asks just so he won't hurt Rozet, "Fine..." I'm about to let out a relieved sigh, "But, get on your knees and beg me first."

If that's all, I would gladly do it, I would much rather protect Rozet than keep my pride anyway. I stumble off the bed, once almost falling. I get on my knees and say again, "P-please," I'm stuttering from the sudden cold, "Please, d-don't hurt Rozet. I'm—I'm begging y-you."

I look up at him from my kneeling position and see his shoe swing to kick me but don't make a move, letting his kick land squarely on my chest. I fall on my side, a bed pole against my mid back.

He kicks again, this time aimed at my abdomen. His shoe hits its target and I try to curl into my protective ball, but before i can he has kicked my chest just about where my lungs are. My breath knocked out I black out for a second seeing stars and fireworks. Somehow I've gotten pulled from my position next to the bed to about in the middle of the room. Aion starts assaulting my back, kicking it rhythmically but with great indifferences as to where. His foot lands on my shoulder blade but then his next kick is at the small of my back. And so on, until he decides something else would be much more fun, by now a trickle of blood is dripping from either sides of my mouth. I can taste the coppery metallic of my blood.

He pushes me onto my back so I'm leaning against a wall now. I look warily up at him and he leers down at me. "Give your hand." He orders. I hesitate and he says, "Or…I could do this to…Christopher. You or him, you pick."

I hurriedly push my hand towards him, no way would I let him harm Rozet. Not if I could help it.

"How pitiful. I gave you a choice and you don't even make the right one. Oh, well," he says, I know he's enjoying this, "if that's what you choose."

I look away from the hand that is extended to him. My left hand. He drops it and reaches over for my right hand, he knows it is my left hand is my dominant hand. I pull it back and get an _TSKING_ noise from him. "You or Christopher." He reminds me.

Me. I extend my trembling right hand to him. "What are you so scared of?" he taunts.

"Are you scared of little old me? I never bite, I promise." The truth is I'm not scared of him…I'm scared of him hurting Rozet.

My eyes go wide as he pulls out the Swiss army knife from his pocket. I don't pull away, though, as the blade draws nearer to my extended wrist. I would much rather this happen to me than to Rozet. I suddenly realize how much I've fallen for Rozet. It was a simple want to not let him get in trouble for something I did at first but now…now I was willing to go as far as letting Aion slit my wrists, or whatever, so he wouldn't touch Rozet or mention hurting him. I had fallen so hard, how had I not realized it?

I feel the cold metal of the blade as it cuts across the my wrists, and fight a scream of pain. The blade is blunt so it hurts more when it cuts again into my skin three more times. That and my already burning, chilling, pounding fever makes me almost go unconscious, but I manage to stay conscious somehow and see that after Aion is done cutting my right wrist he seems happy and leaves. But before he's out the door he says, "Oh, and don't tell Christopher. We wouldn't want to worry him, now would we."

No I wouldn't. I look at the clock it's 12: 15. Rozet might be coming back soon for lunch. Damn. I better clean this up before he gets back. I make a move to stand up but immediately regret it as I come falling back down. My legs feel weak as cooked spaghetti and they hurt too. I roll the pants up and see tons of bruises, he kicked my legs multiple times. But I quickly forget that as I see the blood that is dripping onto the polished wood floor. I force myself up as pain shoots down my legs and I almost fall again.

I scramble quickly to my drawer and look through the bottom drawer, searching for the bandages.

My wrists are still bleeding and it's staining some of my clothes, good thing the darker clothes are in this drawer. Still, I'd have to wash them later so Rozet wouldn't find out. I can't be seen wearing blood stained clothes either, people would mistake me for some psycho serial murderer. Although I think Aion would be more likely to be a serial killer than me.

I find roll of bandage and quickly take it out. By now I am quite good with bandaging myself. But first, I remind myself, I need to get some rubbing alcohol. I find that easily enough. Also inside my bottom drawer. I take a piece of tissue and dip it in the liquid quickly dabbing at my cuts then I start to wrap the gauze around my wrist. The bleeding has subdued a little.

'I bet Rozet will really think I'm hurting myself now.' I thought to myself. It did look like I was hurting myself intentionally. But then I never promised to not hurt myself or tell Rozet the truth. So I wasn't breaking anything.

I finish with my wrists and take off the shirt I was wearing, good thing it wasn't bloodied because I remember it isn't mine. Maybe it's Rozet's? It's a dark blue with little golden stars and moons, on the back is a gold sun and on the front right flap it reads:

'There's no such thing as a night that never ends;

No matter how long the night is…

No matter how long the darkness lasts…

The Sun will always rise.

See?

Even now…

The morning Sun is shining at our backs,

Urging us on.'

I smile. This is a nice pair of pajamas. Then I remember why I took it off. To see where and how many bruises Aion left. I look at my chest, it's practically covered in purple and blue fresh bruises…and older bruises as well as a few cuts. I don't need to see my back to know it's just as, if not more, bruised than my chest. I touch my cheek. The bandage is still there. Good. Maybe Rozet didn't notice it. Yesterday Aion cut it. They usually don't beat up my face or cut me somewhere where people might easily notice. But this time they had been pissed, and drunk at least one too many cans of beer…

_I walk to their door and knock. I'm immediately pulled inside and flipped against the door. _

_"Aion said to meet him on the roof." Genai says in my face, I can smell the liquor on his breath. He pushes me roughly towards the door. I had been in the library for the past hour and a half. I couldn't stand being alone in my dorm room sometimes, now that I knew what it was like to have someone there with me. _

_I'm pushed roughly up the set of stairs leading to the roof of the building. When we get out of the stairwell I feel the chill of the wind and looked up at the darkening sky. The clouds looked heavy. _

_"Wh-why are we up h-here?" I ask quietly. _

_"Why? WHY!?" Aion is standing across from the __door, he starts laughing hysterically. I don't understand why, so I look on blankly. He beckons me with a finger. I cautiously walk towards him, trembling slightly. When I get in front of him I can smell the alcohol on his breath as he says, "Because I want to be here, that's why." Then he punches me in the chest, knocking the wind out of me and I fall to the concrete floor of the roof top. That's when__ with a burst of lightening and a clap of thunder__ the clouds decide to let down their torrent of freezing rain. _

_I shudder and try to get up. In just a few minutes I'm soaked to the bone with this ice cold water. When I'm on my feet again I start towards the door, intending on getting out of this rain at least. But even before I__'m __ten feet from the door Genai gets bet__ween me and the door the__n pushes me back towards Aion. They do this for a while, pushing me back and__ forth between the two of them. Finally I fall again, tripping over my feet from fatigue. _

_They leer over me. The burst of lightening lighting their silhouettes makes them look even creepier. This__ feels like a__ scene from a horror movie. And I feel like I'm the one they're hunting down__ and they've found me_

_But the kicking starts like 'normal.' That lasts a long while as I block out everything around me. Then they do something unexpected. Aion pulls out a Swiss Army Knife. He runs his finger along the edge of the silver blade. The r__ain is still pouring around us and it is dark now, really dark, even the sidewalk lamps' light is hard to see through this amount of darkness. _

_Aion smiles a Cheshire cat smile at me. I'm laying with my back on the ground. I push myself on my hands and look at him fearfully. Then I start backing away from him…towards the edge of the roof. My head bumps against the railing and a clap of thunder makes me shiver as more rain is thrown down. I turn my head to look __down at the ground beneath me. I__t looks miles away. I gulp. _

_Aion inches closer, his glasses glint in another burst of lightening__. The blade is held securely in his hands and he kneels down straddling me and leans forward the blade held in front. I try to shrink away from the ever nearing blade but fruitlessly go nowhere as I am cornered by the blade in front of me, the railing behind me, and Genai sneering beside me, with Aion on top of me I can't move either. _

_I bend my neck back...unknowingly showing more skin he could cut. But he doesn't go for my neck, instead the knife lands gracefully on my jaw bone, he traces it up to my cheek, then begins to pull it back down to the starting point but on the way down he digs the knife into the far side of my right cheek. I give a scream of pain and surprise but __it's__ stopped as Aion brings the knife to my mouth. He __growls__, "One more sound and it's your lips next."_

_I don't make a sound but then Genai off to the side says, "We should do this to that Christopher kid, one of these days. It would be so sweet to hear him scream, like Chrono there just did." He smiles wickedly thinking about it. _

_"NO!" I yell, "Don't even—"_

_But I'm cut off as Aion slides the blade diagonally across my cheek again, he looks at it with smug happiness. I know it's in the shape of an 'X'. I reach up to touch it, the cut doesn't seem too deep, it's not bleeding that bad. I sigh inwardly with relief, this means I won't have too much to clean up. _

_The kicking starts again. Aion kicks my chest and Genai kicks my back, and I lay there until I feel the kicks stop and hear the __**THUMP**__ as the door closes behind their retreating backs. The rain's still pounding away at everything. Now my heads pounding with it. _

_I stumble my way down the empty stairs and take the back way out. I can't afford __to let anyone see__ me like this, bleeding and bruised and wet__, especially Rozet, he can't see me like this. I take the long way back to my dorm building, the way through the __now __dead cherry trees. There are few lamplights here, but for that I am thankful because if someone were to see me they wouldn't know it was me and if they did, they wouldn't see the bruises or cuts and blood. _

_I finally manage to get in front of my dorm room. I don't know how long it took me to get here. I knock on the door. Nobody answers. Good. Rozet isn't here. He's with Joshua again. A throb of pain that has nothing to do with any of the bruises or hits I took rips across my chest._

_I go in and remember I just put my blankets and sheets in the washer and I forgot to put it in the dryer this afternoon. I sigh. Oh, well. I can't do anything about that. I grab some tissues and wipe up my cheek. I leave the light off. No reason to turn it on. I dig through my bottom drawer and pull out a __roll of gauze. I snip a square of it off then grab a little sheet of cotton and put it on taping the gauze over the cotton. _

_Too tired to do much else I drop onto my bed and fall into a light fitful sleep. I feel a hand land on my cheek where the bandage is. The hand is so caring and soft and warm I lean into it and __fall__ into a deeper sleep. _

_Suddenly I am pulled from my unconscious mind as sweat pours off my pounding forehead and shivers run through my entire body the immense heat and cold __w__rack my body with pain and tears start slipping pathetically from my__ eyes and mixing with my sweat. I try to pull away from the caring hand so as not to wake them up. Suddenly the caring hand is gone and I miss it's warmth. _

_How I wish that that caring hand had been real. That it had been Rozets'. _

_"My Rozet-a…" I choke out to myself. How I wish he was mine. My hand lifted to where that caring hand had once lain. Suddenly there is another hand on top of mine. It's warm, so warm, and caring__. So I didn't dream that someone cared about me after all__. 'I want it to be like this forever.' I think foolishly to myself as I pull my hand out from under theirs' and lay it on top. I snuggle into the hand and sigh. This would be my heaven. Even if I was __being frozen and burned by the fires of hell. As long as there was this caring hand there…I would be in heaven. My tears stop flowing. _

_The next thing I know I'm being lifted, carried by someone who cares about me. _

_I fall unconscious again until I hear a soft sniffling and dripping liquid fall__s__ on__to__ my neck. I look up and see Rozet buttoning a shirt on me. He is crying. It breaks my heart to see him cry, for some reason. I reach up to his face and cup his cheeks, using my thumbs to wipe away his tears. He looks so vulnerable right now, I have to protect him. _

_"Chrono…?" He whispers my name in question. __I hope he didn't see the bruises on my chest. _

_He pulls away and quickly starts wiping up his tears. 'Why?' I thought as pain danced across my face, 'Why can't you be mine?' But that wasn't important__ right now, what _was _important though_, _were his tears. __I__ pulled him into an embrace, not caring at the__ moment__ if he loved me or not, I just wanted to stop the tears that kept flowing even after he wiped them away. _

_"It's alright." I say, "You can cry in front of me." I whisper the last__ part as my head droops onto his__ shoulder and I once again lose consciousness. _

'Yes.' I think silently to myself, 'Rozet can always cry in front of me.' But most of all I hope I can always hold him like I did yesterday.

I wiped up the blood from the floor just as I heard the door knob turn. I quickly threw the bloody paper towel into the trash can beside the table. I hurriedly got up and was going to start off towards my bed when I felt like gravity had defied me. I was falling.

"Whoops. Wouldn't want to fall, now would you." Rozet said as he catches me around the middle with his right hand, the other holding five plastic bags of what I'm guessing is food.

I nod, looking up into his beautiful face. I blush, and once again I'm reminded of how hard I have fallen for him. I extend my right hand to help him carry the bags but instead of giving me the bags he drops them on the ground and looks, seemingly entranced, at my hand.

He brings his left hand around and is about to grab hold of my right hand when I understand why he is looking so entranced. The bandages.

**--END CHAPTER SIX--**

**A/N: Hope that was an okay chapter. There's going to be a whole bunch more exagerated drama from here on out. **

** p.s. REVIEW!**


	7. Chapter 7Enter Azmaria

**A/N: Okay, first off I want to thank the people who reviewed last chapter snekochan, MisoGirl, and Synonymous Brian, THANKS SOOOO MUCH ****and, oh, I almost forgot; snekochan and Synonymous Brian were right! The quote from chapter four is from volume 4 when Rosette and Chrono are on the airplane. You must be getting bored of reading this but one more thing...THANKS TO ANYONE WHO'S STILL READING THIS! Hope this chapter's not disapointing! Enjoy!**

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Chapter 7--Enter Azmaria--

(Rozet's POV)

Fresh bandages. Those are fresh bandages on his right wrist. I make a move to grab his right hand with my left hand but he seems to have noticed as he raises his left hand and catches mine before they reach his other hand. He holds my wrist like that, and with his right hand he unwraps my arm from around his middle.

He takes three steps backwards and hides his hands behind his back than looks at me, "Thank you." He says turning around, bringing his hands to the front and hiding them again from my view. Chrono says reassuringly to me in a cheerful voice, "I-it's nothing, Rozet-a. D-don't worry about it, okay?"

I frown, "What is it? What happened?" I ask.

He yawns stretching his arms over his head and says, "I feel better now. But…" he turns around smiling sheepishly when his stomach growls, "I'm kind of hungry. Did you buy anything? I'll cook." He says moving around my still form towards the bags.

"Yes." I say quietly, "But you don't need to cook. It's already done." I turn quickly around to face him again, "But, Chrono! What happened!?" I practically yelled scaring him and making him turned around.

I'm close to tears now but he smiles reassuringly insisting, "It's nothing to worry about, Rozet-a...just a little cut is all."

"Chrono! Stop lying! Tell me!" now I'm yelling, and I'm sure there are tears in the corner of my eyes, "Tell me! If you won't tell me, at least tell me WHY you won't tell me!"

I wipe at the corner of my eyes. I won't let him see me cry. That's probably why Chrono won't tell me. He saw me cry and he thinks I'm weak! I knew I shouldn't have.

"I'm not weak! I'm not!" I shout.

He looks at me with alarm in his eyes. I don't care anymore. He doesn't care. 'Chrono doesn't even trust me enough to tell me what he's doing to himself.' I think. But what have I ever done to deserve his trust? I've been chasing after a shadow of my brother, the brother I loved so dearly, and not paying attention to anything else. I wouldn't blame Chrono if he hates me, too, because I know my own brother does…

_"Hey, Joshua, James told me you're adopted. Did you have any siblings?" I ask, innocently enough. _

_He laughs, "Did he now? Well, in any case, no. I didn't have any real family until James' family took me in." he smiles, "I'm so grateful to them, I used to be really sick, but they paid for the treatment and now," he stands up__ and flexes his arm as if he's got muscles, "now I'm all better."_

_"So…" I say, "No siblings then, huh?" _

_"No__pe…actually," He pauses, his voice is starting to lower in volume and he's turned away, "…actually…one__…__" he mumbles something, all I hear is, "probably doesn't__ want to…remember__...such...a burden..." Then he turn tails and walks away saying, "See ya, Christopher." _

_"Yeah, see ya, too…" I say, then add quietly, "…little brother…"_

He even repressed his memories about me so his life would be easier. Maybe it's time to go back now. Now that I've found the answer, it's nothing like what I hoped it would be.

I turn away and look through my backpack for my cell phone and pocket knife.

"Rozet-a. Rozet-a!? What are you doing!?" Chrono asks in alarm, he grabs my shoulder and tries fruitlessly to turn me towards him. I continue to look determinedly through my backpack. Finding my knife next to my cell phone I grab them and shake off his hand as I grab my light jacket and I pause before reaching the door, "It's okay." I say softly, "I guess I didn't earn your trust." I turn around and smile cheerfully at him then I turn around and run. I close it softly behind me and begin to sprint towards the dead strip of cherry trees. They're so beautiful even when they're dead.

I climb easily enough up the tallest tree in about the middle of the strip of woods. I lean against the tree and close my eyes for a minute to try and quell the tears that are welling up. But it doesn't work and the tears spill anyway. I let them run for a bit but push them to stop. I need to be strong. I don't know why it pissed me so much that Chrono wouldn't tell me what he did. I don't know how I grew this attached to him in just a little over a month.

I break off a twig from the tree and start whittling at it. This has always calmed me down, doing something with my hands. I whittle the little twig until it's in the shape of a braid. It reminds me of how when I was little I always kept my hair in two neat braids. And… it reminds me of what did to Chrono's hair this morning after he fell asleep; I braided it, it's so long and pretty. He probably hasn't even noticed. I smile even though the memories of my childhood moments and Chrono's distrust hurt. Tears are in my eyes again. Geez, I'm being such a crybaby these days. I put the braided twig aside and pull out my cell phone, punching in my 'moms' private number.

I wait.

"Hello?" I ask softly.

"Satella?" I call.

"Yes, Satella. I'm ready to come back. I found my answer…Joshua hated me, and he still hates me. That's why." I say, my voice breaks at the end because just saying it makes it truer. "No—I'm serious—I don't want to—"

"Huff, huff, huff. No!" I drop my phone in surprise and look down to see who it was that surprised me; there is a girl who looks like she's maybe fourteen, she's wearing a pleated white skirt with a long pink and white overcoat, her long hair, a strange silver pink-tinted hue, covers most of her face. She is waving her purse around her, "NO! Go! Go away! Huff, huff. Don't touch me!"

Out from around us come some boys, maybe seven guys, leading them is Genai. I knew I hated that guy from the moment I laid eyes on him. He steps forward right onto my cell phone, breaking it with his weight. Arg! I wasn't finished talking with Satella! Perfect timing then, I needed something else to take this anger out on other than just a whittled twig, fighting eight guys would do the trick. Plus, what were they thinking of doing to this girl anyway.

I crack the twig in my hand and let the little pieces fall to the dead grass below. I jump down from the tree, landing on one knee with me head bowed, my hair falling over my face is blown by a sudden breeze. Heh, maybe God is finally on my side.

I look up at the startled people around me and sneer, "Hey, guys, what's going on? Having a party without me?"

Genai sneers right back, "You can have her first if you want." I look at him with disgust.

"No. I'm not some horny pedophile, thank you." I look at the shaking girl behind me then around at the group around me and I add, "Unlike _some people_ around here." I meant them, of course.

Genai growls deep in his throat, "Fine. If you don't want her…we'll just take her off your hands then." He makes a move to step around me towards the girl. I block him.

"Move, Christopher." He growls. Is he a dog or something? What's with all the growling? I don't intend to move and I don't.

"Chriiisstoopher." He growls warningly. The other guys surround us, making a semi-circle, waiting for a good fight; I know they're expecting Genai to win. But I don't intend to let that happen either.

I smirk, "Is that it?"He moves forward again, this time kicking what remains of my cell phone at me. I bend to pick it up, and he swings a kick at my face. I move to the side. "Aw, and I thought you would play fair." I say in a baby voice.

He laughs harshly, "Never turn your back on an enemy."

"So, we're enemies now, eh?" I drop the broken cell phone piece, "Fine. Are you sure you don't want to back out now?" I ask.

He smirks, "I don't even need to fight you you're so weak. Guys! Get him!" he yells as he signals for the other guys to move in on us like a pack of hungry wolves.

I sigh exasperated. The first wave hit, four guys. I take my time with them, not wanting to be left still angry when this was all over. Even though I took my time they're all down in three minutes. One still managed to hit my face. That's not going to happen again. The next wave hits, three guys this time. I'm growing impatient and just don't care anymore, they're down in a minute and a half. Genai now rushes angrily at me, but all my anger is gone now and I'm just plain impatient.

I let him take a shot at me but he can't even aim right and the punch doesn't even come within a foot of me. He rushes back at me his head down and looking like he's trying to knock me off my feet. It doesn't work. At the last second I step to the side and elbow him behind the neck.

I didn't get a black belt for nothing, and I didn't learn marital arts for nothing neither. I stand up amongst the fallen boys just as someone comes through the bushes but stops dead at the edge of the half circle of boys. He looks up.

"You missed the party, brother dearest." I say.

"What-what happened?" Joshua asks.

"Like I said," I say, the girl behind me is clinging to my back and shivering so I turn around and put my jacket around her she slips her arms through the sleeves and I button up the jacket, "You missed the party, brother dearest. If you were planning on _assaulting_ this girl with your pathetic friends, you're a bit late. And, anyway," I turn around to face him, "what are you doing hanging out with people like this, Joshy? I thought I taught you better. Apparently I didn't. It's no wonder you hate me so, little brother." I say dropping clues like bombs, if he can't figure it out, well…

I turn away and start walking towards the sidewalk, the girl with pale hair is clutching onto me like I'm her lifeline. I hear Joshua shout from behind me, "Wait!" and something else incoherent to my ears because by then I've pulled us far away from the little fiasco back in the cherry trees.

"Are you alright?" I finally ask the girl. She nods, blushing. I stop at a bench and sit her down, "Hey, what's your name and what are you doing here anyway? Don't you know it's an all boys' school? You look pretty innocent," I say looking her up and down, "but don't you know that a lot of boys at boys' only schools are horny."

I'm sure she knows what I'm talking about because that's when she blushes even redder than before. I smile, "You still haven't told me your name and why you're here."

"Oh." She says; this is the first word she'd said to me, "I'm looking for my cousin. I'm pretty sure he goes to school here."

"And who's that?" I ask.

"I should've listened to mother and brought along a bodyguard." She says, then faces towards me, "Thanks, for back there."

"No problem." I say then close my eyes leaning my head against the back of the bench, "But why do I get the feeling you're evading my questions. Ugh. You and Chrono are too much alike, and I've just met you."

"Oh!" she sounds excited, I lift an eye and look at her, "You know Chrono? Do you?"

"Unfortunately, I do. What does that matter to you?" I ask.

She giggles, "He here then! He's the cousin I'm looking for."

"No wonder." I mutter. They're both a lot alike: Queer but beautiful hair and eye colors, shy, and easily embarrassed. The girls' eye color is a red rimmed pink, she reminds me of a bunny and her complexion is pale, so is Chronos' but his is a pale tan. If that makes any sense. And they're both really easy to make friends with.

"You still haven't told me your name." I say.

"Oh, Azmaria Hendricks. Nice to meet you." She shyly offers a hand. I take it. 'And,' I add to there list of similarities, 'they both have really exotic, cool sounding names; Chrono Daemon, Azmaria Hendricks.'

"Nice to meet you, too." I say, "Now let's go find Chrono. Why are you looking for him anyway?"

She giggles again, "I've been looking for Chrono for the past three years. Mother and Father wouldn't let me see him. Said he was a bad influence."

"Oh. Where'd you come from?"

"Las Vegas." She says. I let out a low, amazed whistle, "You came all that way to find Chrono? Are you in love with him by chance?"

She blushes, "No…I've just always been really close to him. He lived with us after…well…I can't say. But when he started middle school they sent him away, saying he was a bad influence for me. They sent him to all these horrible schools. I finally found him three years ago. Then they moved him again."

"Hmm…" I say, contemplating what Azmaria had just said. We walk by a tree, I'm suddenly very pissed off again; I slam my fist into the tree. Right, left, right, left, right…why doesn't anybody tell me the truth?...right, left, right…how does Satella expect me to run a company when NOBODY trusts me and will tell me the truth about ANYTHING. Needles prick at the back of my eyes as I keep hitting the tree. I slowly sink onto my knees, my fists only banging lightly against the tree now.

I get up slowly and look at my fists, they're bleeding, but that doesn't matter. I pull the girl away with me, the sun is setting now. I refuse to let my tears fall—ever again.

Azmaria looks intently up at my face.

My eyes must still be red for she asks, "Why were you crying?" talk about blunt. I laugh.

"What makes you think I was crying?" I ask as another hearty laugh escapes my throat, I put on a mask of good cheer and say, "Well?"

She stutters, "W-well, your—your eyes are r-red."

I retort with, "So, you have been crying too then?"

She doesn't say anything. I'm glad she dropped the topic. As we pass building G I see Aion lead a nun with dark red-brown hair into the building, Sister Rizelle. So they're having a rendezvous, huh. Well, I knew Sister Rizelle had been crushing on him, but this is none of my business. I pull Azmaria past.

"C'mon, you did come all this way to find Chrono, after all." I say.

We're finally in front of my room, Chrono's room. I take out a key and unlock the door, Azmaria looks curiously at me. "So I can get in if he's not here." I say.

"Why would you need to get in, though?"

"Because I lived here." I say simply then look with amusement at the expression of surprise that shows on her face.

She looks at my hand worriedly, "Will you be alright?"

I smile brightly, "Of course."

When the door is open I peek inside, Chrono's not here, odd.

"Uh, he's not here. But you can wait in here for him, he's sick so he should be back soon, anyway." I say as she walks into dorm room. She stops when she doesn't hear me follow.

"Aren't you coming in?" she asks.

I shake my head and she asks anxiously, "Why? Where are you going?"

I don't want to be here when Chrono gets back, that's why. But I don't think I need to give her an answer so I just turn around and close the door behind me. I start walking away but she's soon at my side.

"What do you want, Azmaria? You just have to wait in there for Chrono, I'm sure he'll be back soon."

She looks at me, "Who are you?"

I look quizzically at her, "Again with that question . This feels like a déjà vu." I mutter.

"Can—can I c-come with you?" she asks instead.

Bewildered I look at her, "What? Why?"

The pale girl asks again shyly, "Can—can I c-come with y-you?"

"Uh…" I don't know what to say, "You best stay here and wait for Chrono. You did practically come across the country to see him."

She looks sadly at her feet, "Oh. O-okay." Azmaria turns around and walks slouch shouldered back into the room. I wait to make sure she locks the door then turn on my heels and leave.

………

I check my watch: 2:03 a.m. Chrono would be asleep by now. Good.

I slowly open the door, so as not to make my presence known. When I'm in the middle of the room I look across the side to Chrono's bed but he's not on his bed. Sleeping in his bed is Azmaria with a thin sheet, he's sleeping on the floor next to the bed…without a blanket. Again. Despite myself, a little smile crosses my face, I can do this one last thing before I go. I walk towards his sleeping form and slip him into my arms. He's not too heavy.

I walk us towards my bed and put him on it, pulling the blanket up to his neck and hear him murmur, "Rozet-a…" I feel my cheeks warm. I walk back towards his bed with another blanket and cover Azmaria with it, tonight's a cold night. I creep back towards my bed where my backpack is leaning against a bedpost. I grab my backpack and scurry towards the drawer. I take out two pairs of clothing, a hat, a pair of brown leather working gloves that reach to just below my elbow, a scarf and a hooded sweatshirt. I also take out my 'emergency' supplies: matches, rope, and a compass. I stuff the things in my backpack and grab something to eat from the bag of food that is now on the table. I throw a light jacket over my shoulders.

I scan the room to see if there is anything left I need or want. I remember the picture. The only picture of me and Joshua, it was taken before he'd gotten sick. I walk back to my dresser and pull out the picture putting it down on the drawer and examine our innocent smiling faces. This was the thing that was dearest to me. Was.

I tear out a piece of paper from the sticky-pad that's also on the drawer. I quickly scrawl something on it signing it with 'Christopher' then a tiny comma that I know no one will notice and 'Rosette.'

I turn around and start walking towards the door. I'd have to call Satella again. Tell her she was right this one time and that I'm not coming home just yet. I know I'll be coming back here, though; I still have some loose ends to tie.

'But right now? Right now I needed some time to think. Think about what I'm going to do now that I've finally found the brother that I've been searching for…and about my growing,' I turn around and glance once more at Chrono and get a strange gnawing in my stomach, '_QUICKLY_ growing _'attachment'_ to Chrono Daemon.'

**--END CHAPTER SEVEN--**

**A/N: Told you it was going to be dramatic. Um...I know I'm forgetting something...oh, well, whatever. ANYWAYS...REVIEW! **


	8. Chapter 8 Drama at an airport

**A/N: Hey! Just decided to put this up last minute so forgive me if there's a lot of wrong spelling and stuff...it's not intentional. Oh, also, this won't be Christmas-y because...well...uh, yeah. Okay, moving on; THANKS TO MY REVIEWERS (you know who you are) and also to the readers of this FF. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I've been forgetting to put these up but, hey, use common sense; this _is_ called _FAN_fiction. Yeah...so I don't own. **

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(Chrono's POV)

The sun slipped through the window, bathing the room in bright sunlight. I snuggled deeper into the dark, soft folds of the bed and blankets—_**WAIT**__…_BED? BLANKET? I shot up and looked around. My braided hair swung from side to side. I don't know when it was braided but I decided to leave it that way because maybe….Rozet braided it…maybe.

Azmaria was asleep on the bed on the other side of the room…then there was only one bed left for me to have slept on. Rozet's bed. I blushed, why was I waking up in his bed so often now-a-days? And if I was sleeping in Rozet's bed… 'Where is Rozet, then?'…I look down the length of the bed, then peek under the covers and blush… 'At least he isn't in bed with me.' I sighed in relief and blushed even deeper thinking about the morning before when I woke up to find Rozet on my chest. Or in his words, 'his soft, warm bed.'

But… 'Where is he then?' the question nagged at me. I scanned the room once again to check if I'd missed anything. Nope. He isn't here. 'If he's pissed at me he wouldn't have stayed up late and not come back, he would come back here and watch me with a bored expression and not answer or talk to me until…' I smiled, 'until I snap at him for ignoring me or until I beg him to stop ignoring me. Then he'd smile sweetly,' that smile was too sweet…and girly, 'and say something like 'Oh? Really?' and he'd smirk. SMIRK! Damn, he could act really evil. And I'm in…' I won't say it, saying it will make it more…real…and that frightens me.

This had really only happened a few times before the first was after the first instance Aion and Genai…well, yeah…and I had bandages on my hand and Rozet asked me what I'd done to it, I lied to him and somehow he saw through it and got really angry. He must've just not liked being lied to…that was all…I could never convince myself that he was truly worried, after all…he hardly thought of me as a friend, right?

"Hey, Azzy, wake up." I say as I lean over her sleeping form and grab her by the shoulder shaking her gently. I found her sleeping on my bed when I came back and didn't have the heart to wake her up, surprised as I was. But she should really be getting back to Las Vegas now; how did she even find me?

"Wake up, Azzy." I call again, "How did you find me? You should be heading back; your parents might be worried." I _knew_ her parents would be worried though; she was the heiress to their company since they didn't have any sons. She sat up in the bed, there was a thicker blanket covering the thin sheet I'd put in her yesterday. Was Rozet here, and left? Azzy rubbed at her eyes childishly, "Oh, Chrono, you're here. I finally found you. Sorry, I fell asleep."

"Why are you here, Azzy? How did you even get here?" I ask, like I mentioned before, she was asleep when I came back and I didn't want to wake her up.

"Oh, I heard a rumor that you might be here so I came to check; and you _ARE_ here! How've you been doing anyway?"

I smiled, that was just like her, "I'm alright. You should've just called…you shouldn't act so dramatically." I say.

She pouts, but then her face brightens up, I wonder why? I find out from her next question, "Where's your roommate?" she asks brightly, a flush on her face.

The question catches me by surprise, "Oh, uh—how do you know my roommate?" I ask.

"Well," she contemplates something, "I didn't catch his name but," she blushes, "He saved me yesterday."

Saved her? From what? I voice my questions. Her face reddens even more as she mumbles, "I came to look for you and some guys chased started chasing me into the woods and they cornered me against a tree." I blanch. She looks at me then quickly continues, "But they didn't hurt me." I let out a relieved sigh and then start to ask how she got away unhurt but she cuts me off, "Your roommate saved me. He jumped down from the tree that they'd cornered me against…at the time I couldn't believe my luck, I…" she pauses and a wistful look crosses over her face, "He fell so suddenly in front of me…I-I thought God had surely sent an angel to protect me." she says the last part in a breath.

"He beat up the guys who were around us like it was nothing. I mean there were at least _SEVEN _guys surrounding us. And they were all _BIGGER_ than him." Azzy says with amazement as I think to myself that she must be exaggerating, she turns to face me, "Hey, Chrono, what's your roommates name?"

_BLINK_

_BLINK_

_BLINK_

"He _saved_ you and you don't even know his name?" I ask in astonishment. Azzy blushes and fiddles with the hem of her sleeves, "Well, when I asked him he didn't answer my question. He just said something about déjà vu."

I smile in good humor and say, "His name? His name's Christopher Rozet."

"Wow," she breathes, "his name's so neat." Then she tries out the name, "Christopher. Rozet." Azzy blushes. I don't tell her I call him 'Rozet-a' though.

"You like him?" I ask teasingly.

She blushes but nods hesitantly.

"You're in love with him." I say, not changing my tone of voice.

She nods absently then realizes what I just said and swiftly turns her head towards me blushing redder than a ripe tomato and says, "I-I'm not in—" but she stops herself and looks down at her lap then squawks quietly, "M-maybe. J-just a l-l-little, o-okay." She looks up at my smirking mask and shouts, "NO! You can't tell him! You can't!"

'I don't plan to…do anything…I don't plan to tell him my own…growing feelings…my thinking that he is a girl…that I want to hear him say he's also in…' I stop mid-thought, '…I don't plan to tell him any of these things any time soon…if at all. Period.' Azzy likes him and, I know Azzy has a chance even though Rozet seems to be in love with Joshua, I'm a bit jealous. 'If only…I wish Rozet was a girl.' I sigh because I know that's not going to happen in a million years. Boys don't magically turn into girls just because you wish it.

"C'mon, let's get some breakfast. Then I need to get to class and _you_ need to go back home before your mom and dad send an army after me." I say jokingly but when I don't see a smile cross her features I add, "I'm just kidding, Azzy. You know I'm happy to see you again," it's been three years since we last saw each other, "but your parents will be worried. Now, let's get some breakfast in us _then_ talk about all that's been going on, okay?"

She nods and we got to sit at the little table.

We're almost done with breakfast and class begins in approximately thirty minutes when Azmaria says, "Cousin," uh-oh, this is what she calls me when she wants to talk about something serious.

"Yes?" I ask nervously, I can't help it. I always get nervous when she acts serious.

"You said you're happy to see me, right?"

I look at her curiously, "Yeah, why?"

Then she drops an atomic bomb, "Can I move in here?"

The room is absolutely quiet for two minutes then I spit out the fruit in my mouth saying, "WHAT!? You want to move in _HERE_? NO WAY! And you know why! This is an ALL BOYS SCHOOL! The last time I saw you, were a GIRL! If that has somehow changed in the past three years…" I trail off, paling at the thought that she might now be a he.

She laughs hysterically at my reaction but manages to say in between the guffaws, "Cousin…I meant…New…York…not the…Magdalene School." She continues to laugh hysterically.

Annoyed and a little more than embarrassed I say, "Well, you should've said that in the first place…and…why are you asking _me_ if you can move into New York? You should be asking your mother or father. Or both."

"Well, I just decided yesterday." She says sheepishly.

"…Does this have something to do with Christopher?"

Again, sheepishly, she says, "Heh, heh…Yeah." Then looks up quickly and adds, "BUT! I want to be close to you too!"

"Uh huh." I say, feigning hurt.

"N-no, really!" she says ranting and blubbering on after that as I watch and smile, amused at her.

She finally notices that I'm smiling and pouts, "Hmph. You're mean, Chrono."

I continue to smile but there is a look of realization on her face and she asks, "I haven't seen him all morning. Where's Christopher?"

I look down, "I don't know."

"Didn't he come home yesterday?"

"Um…" I turn away, I feel a little guilty for some reason, "I don't know. When I came back yesterday you were the only one in the room and you were asleep on the bed…so I slept on the floor so Ro—Christopher could have his bed. But when I woke up…I was in his bed and he wasn't anywhere."

Azzy's eyes grew big, "He's so kind." She whispers. 'He's also stubborn, short tempered, strong, not at all graceful, not gentle but caring and definitely kind…and beautiful.' I think, but just say, "Yes. He is."

She looks at her watch then at my clock, "You better get ready, classes start soon."

"Uh, yeah. But I should go with you and at least send you to the airport. It's okay; I can miss first period, c'mon." I say.

"But—but I want to move in here." she persists.

"Yes, you can move in, you didn't need to ask me in the first place, but you have to go back home first and tell your parents, then pack your stuff, I'm sure you've got some important stuff you left at home, _THEN_ you can move in here. There should be a private girls' school around here somewhere." I say walking towards the door.

I hear her sniffle behind me and turn around, "What's wrong, Azzy?"

"I'm sorry, I've been such a bother." She says, but something behind her catches my attention. A bright yellow piece of paper with my name written on it in big bold letters is sitting on top of Rozet's dresser. I hurry towards it; Azzy turns around and follows me as I walk past her. "What is it?" she whispers from behind me, still a little teary eyed. The thing is; I don't know…yet.

I brush the other things off the dresser top in my hurry to see the note. My eyes go wide, this can't be for real. This can't mean what I'm thinking it means. The note reads:

**CHRONO,**

HEY, YOU CAN KEEP THE PJS. I HOPE YOU LIKE THEM,

THERE ARE NONE OUT THERE LIKE THEM.

UM, THAT'S MOSTLY ALL.

SINCERELY,

Christopher Rosette

P.S. PLEASE DON'T TELL ANYONE.

Tell anyone what? And why'd he sign his name Christopher _ROSETTE_? What the heck was going on?

I dropped the yellow piece of paper and it fell gently, drifting like a dead leaf carried by the autumn wind, to the floor. Azzy picked it up and made a noise. I turn to look, remembering that I'm not alone, "I-it's okay, Azzy." I sooth.

"W-what happened?" her voice is trembling and her hands fly to cover her trembling lips, "Is—is Christopher…is he go-going to be okay?" she asks.

"Of course, he is." I say, "Remember? You said he beat up eight guys that were bigger than him, no problem." though I highly doubt it I say it to sooth her, "Now c'mon I want you to go back home and think about moving here. Then if you still want to move, you can tell your parents." I start walking us towards the door, "I'm going to skip first period and make sure you get on the plane first, then come back. We don't have to go JFK airport, there's a smaller airport around here, I think we can grab a cab."

She's sniffling as we go down the stairs, and as I see Genai walk by I notice she shudders and moves closer to me. We wait in front of the school gate for a taxi, five minutes later a cab pulls up. Azmaria and I go in as another taxi pulls up behind us, I see someone go inside but pay no mind, people come and go all the time.

I instruct the driver to take us to the station closest, I forgot what it was called. When we get there it is already quite packed for such a small airport. I pull Azzy out and pay the driver, thanking him and decently tipping him. He smiles and says, "Any time, kiddo."

I smile and walk a still sniffling Azzy through the building doors. I place Azzy in a seat next to a window and start walking towards the ticket booth to pay for a ticket for her, but I'm stopped when she tugs lightly on my shirt making me turn around, "Hmm?" I ask.

She shoves a check that's signed into my hands. "It's okay, Azzy, I'll pay." I say. But she persists so I just take it and buy a plane ticket for her. Her flight will take off soon, she has a first class ticket with an escort. I feel a little better knowing that she's not going to be alone.

She's moving around uncomfortably I turn to look at her. "I need to use the bathroom." She says quietly, embarrassed. I smile nervously, "The bathroom's over there." I say pointing at a sign with a triangle under a circle, the sign's hanging in front of crevice that's vacant. She nods and starts in the direction I pointed, I follow after her. For some reason I'm feeling paranoid…

And for good reason because as I watch Azmaria is pulled behind a side door in the little hallway leading to the bathroom. I start running, 'what the hell was going on?' I'm one door away from the door Azmaria was pulled into when I feel myself being knocked off my feet and pulled into darkness. I look around me and try to fight whoever has me captive, I hear another person struggling and then a voice that sounds like Azzy's trying to scream something. I bit the persons' hand and he unclamps his hand from around my mouth, hissing a string of curses, "Azzy!?" I yell.

"Mphm…Ch…no." the voice is muffled but definitely Azzys'. I hear a rough voice say, "Shut up and you might not end up dead, young heiress."

_**BAM**_

The room is suddenly lit with light flooding in from outside. I look in the direction of the door. A dark silhouette of person is all I can see. The person grabs me around the middle, kicking my captor in the stomach. I'm thrown out of the dark closet room. I hear a grunt and Azzy is thrown on top of me as I try to get up. Azzy has tears forming in her eyes, her overcoat is slightly skewed but it doesn't look like they've harmed her much.

The door is slammed and my left wrist is grabbed, thank god it wasn't my right. I see that the person has also grabbed Azzy's wrist. We're pulled to our feet and dragged behind the person that saved us, we're being urged to run and I hear the person say to Azzy, "Am I always saving you?" I 'm stopped dead for a second but am quickly pulled further into the crowd. But…but…that voice.

I grab the persons' shoulder. The person's dressed in a black hoodie, a cap pulled over his face. I'm about to ask the person something but my hand's shaken off and we're pulled through the crowd again.

_**BANG**_

_**BANG**_

_**BANG**_

Shit. Was that gunfire? "Shit!" the person still pulling us mutters. Everybody is ducking and we're the only ones still standing and running. "We…should…duck." I say.

"NO. We can't endanger these civilians' lives." The person faces towards me as we're running. I don't see the face clearly but I see a smile, "This is the most fun I've had in a long time." Fun? I'm not sure we're so safe with this person either.

We duck behind a corner. The person pulls at our coats which we take off. The person shuffles through a backpack that I've just noticed and takes out a light jacket and stuffs it into my coat. She sticks her backpack into Azmarias' coat. A door is opened and we're pushed inside, the door is closed again. I scan over Azzy again to make sure she's all right.

"What happened?" I ask.

"I-I don't kn-know…" she stutters, "I w-was just going t-to the bathroom and-and then…" she trails off. Good. at least she's not harmed physically. Well, I'm not going to just sit here. "Azzy," I whisper, "Stay here, I'm going to see who that was and what they're doing." She nods.

I peek around the corner. The person who saved us rushes from behind at the closest gunman and knocks him off his feet. He falls onto his back dropping the gun in the process, the black-hooded person grabs the gun before the gunman can. The gunman rushes at the black-hooded person.

I'm thinking that the person who saved us is going to be rammed in the chest but they dodge out of the way just before they would've been hit. The black-hooded stranger chops the back of the gunman's neck with his hand making the gunman fall to the ground, unconscious. The other three gunmen are aiming their guns at the black-hooded stranger now, but their hands are trembling and they don't shoot. I hear the stranger say to those gunmen in a slow and cold voice, "Put down your weapons. I don't want to shoot."

One of the gunmen tries to be 'heroic' and shoots at the stranger, but the stranger doesn't even flinch the bullet is so off target. The gun is raised and a shot is heard throughout the entire terminal. The man who shot at the black-hooded stranger falls to his knees the gun pushed towards the stranger, his body trembling. On the wall right behind him, a millimeter away from where his head was in front of, there is a bullet hole. That's how close the shot was. I think the stranger could've hit the man if he'd wanted to.

The other men drop their weapons and fall onto their knees, hands up in the air in a sign of surrender. The black-hooded stranger walks up to the gunmen, all the while looking through the backpack for something. He kicks the guns away as he approaches each. Yellow rope is pulled out. The stranger ties all the guys' wrists together than ties that to a nailed down bench. The stranger walks calmly to the payphone and dials 911, still watching the men that are tied up.

"Hello? Yes, there's an emergency at the Little Roosevelt Airport on Roosevelt Street. Yes. Please hurry. No. Thank you." The stranger walks back to the four tied up gunmen he looks at the three that are conscious and then hits them on the back of the neck. Their heads sag and their eyes close. By now all the civilians were looking around to see what had happened of the gunmen as police sirens could be heard in the distance, coming closer. They look at the black-hooded stranger and started applauding. Some even broke into tears as they clung onto their children or spouse.

That's when Azzy pushed out from the closet and approached the stranger grabbing hold of his arm. She walks back and grabs my hand. The stranger and I are pulled out of the airport terminal just as the police arrived.

"Stop. We were called here for an emergency. All persons here must be interrogated."

Azzy surprised me by clinging to the strangers' arm and my hand tighter and giving the cop big, watery puppy eyes, "Chrono, Ch-Christopher," she said in a scared voice, "I-I want t-to go h-h-home." She stutters as tears spring from her eyes. I think they were real. But…Christopher?

The stranger coughed, "Sir," a low voice says coming from under the hoodie and baseball hat, "If you please, let the young Miss. Hendricks return home, she has had quite a traumatic day. If you need to interrogate anyone do it after she has returned home and rested some. The people you really want to talk to are in the terminal. They attempted to kidnap and murder Miss. Hendricks. Now, if you will, please move aside. Her parents will be worried that she has not arrived home yet."

The cop moves aside, stunned.

Azmaria hiccups, tears still slipping down her cheeks. She must have been so scared, why wasn't I strong enough to protect her? "Th-thank you, Christopher." She murmurs than turns to me and hugs me around the middle like she used to when she was little and got scared; this is how I know the tears weren't fake, "Thank—thank you, Chrono."

The policeman looks sympathetically at us then ushers us to one of the squad cars, "Here, climb in. I'll drive you to the airport. Make sure you get there safely." I smile thankfully at him. We all sit in the backseat of the squad car and wait for the man to return, he's outside ordering his comrades to go in and check on the situation. He comes back and smiles reassuringly at us, "Okay, now we're off."

We rode in silence, no words were exchanged. He drops us off at the JFK and asks anxiously, "Are you sure you'll be alright?" the black-hooded stranger nods and says in his unusually low voice, "Thank you for your service, sir." Then he turns around and drags me and Azzy along behind him. When we're inside he takes the tickets and goes to the ticket booth to exchange them.

He comes back with two tickets, and hands one to Azzy, I'm handed twenty dollars, enough to get back to Magdalene, without a word. He looks at the board of planes landing and taking off and seems to jump as he looks at his ticket. He pulls back his hood and takes off his cap, bowing lowly, and letting a mass of golden locks fall over his glowing face as if to say 'at your service.'

His sapphire orbs shine brightly as he leans towards my left ear and whispers, "Hope you like the PJs, Ku. Ro. No." He pats Azzy's head saying, "Try not to get into more trouble, I might not be there, A. zu. Ma. Ri. A." he says our names, pronouncing every syllable. And then he's off and gone. Leaving us gawking in his absence.

My mind growls angrily as my cheeks flush, '_CHRISTOPHER ROZET!__ GET YOUR SNEAKY BUTT BACK HERE! ' _

**--END CHAPTER EIGHT****—**

**A/N: Was that okay? It wasn't that bad, right? And, YES, I know it's _SUPER_ dramatic but I kind of really wanted to wright this. Oh, REVIEW! REVIEW! & REVIEW! It would be very appreciated if you did. Hope you liked it!**


	9. Chapter 9 Going places

**A/N: HAPPY NEW YEARS, GUYS! (Um, by that I meant everybody, okay?) I'll keep this short. I noticed that in my last chapter author note I wrote 'write' wrong, I wrote it like this: wright, wonder where I got tht from. Anyway, thanks for the kind reviews and all. Hope you like it! Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 9

(Rosette's POV)

'Shit. Shit! _SHIT!_' I'm going to miss the plane if I don't hurry!

I let out a giggle. Some people turn to look at me as I run past them. I just can't help it when I remember the expressions on Chrono and Azmaria when they saw that I was the one who had saved them. It was too priceless. I let out another giggle. 'Ah! There it is!'

I race towards the gate and hand my ticket quickly to the person, running through security then through the tunnel-like hallway that connected with the plane. I'd gotten a coach class ticket. I needed to save up as much money as I could.

When I got on the plane it was only a few minutes when the plane started to take off. I look out the window as we fly over New York City, at the view. It's about midmorning and the city doesn't look as beautiful as it did the time I came, it had been early morning when I'd arrived last time, about three in the morning, the city was dark and lit with neon lights on all possible colors. Everything had looked possible then, now it all seemed so… it was like the city below me. It had looked beautiful and full of possibilities when I'd arrived and it was dark and I couldn't see all the ugliness when in truth this city looked just like the one I'd left behind…nothing but the cold that seeped in was all that seemed to have changed. Just like in my life.

'Bye Joshua.' I look in the direction Magdalene catholic school would've been and pretend that I see it, Joshua standing at the front gate waving good bye to me with tears in his eyes. Violet locks. Crimson orbs that are rimmed with tears. Chrono. I blush, he would never cry. He was too strong, "Bye Chrono, Joshua…" then I whisper, "I'll be back. I promise."

I just need to think. Satella and Floretta always said I acted rashly with my fist before I thought anything through. Well, now I would think all this through first then I'd do what needs to be done. I fell asleep... 'I hope Azmaria makes it home safely.' I think before I succumb to my tiredness. I'd been up all night waiting for that plane and I was just getting out of the girl's bathroom (I hope Azmaria didn't see me) when I saw her being pulled in through a door. Chrono was right after her and got pulled into a door too. And then…well…after I got them out…

_Holding Chrono and Azmaria's jackets I shove the two in the closet. I look quickly at Chronos' face before I shut the door; he was looking at his niece worriedly. A smile tugs at my lips as I close the door; he seems even more worried about Azmaria than about himself, just like him to. _

_With 'Azmaria' and 'Chrono' secularly under my arms I start running __in the general direction of the gunmen. Ironically the phones were behind them. In front of one of the men there are two children, a young boy and a girl, my eyes narrow. _

_He's turned around. One of the kids, the girl, is looking around from her position frantically. I wave a bit, she notices me and her eyes widen. I gesture for her to move over slowly just a bit, she does so, dragging the boy slowly along behind her. The gunman turns towards the noticing that they're moving. Perfect. They just need to hold his a attention a—his eyes are narrowed, he pulling the safety from the gun—NO!_

_I __drop the coats in the process of running towards the gunman. I push a kick at his knees and he falls back, the kids scamper to hide behind a steadfast chair, I scurry towards the gun and grab hold of it before the gunman is up. _

_But he stands back up. He glares at me and then rushes at me, headlong, like a football player; he is directing right at my chest. _

_I wait. Trembling. I'm scared…but…but if move I won't be able to knock him out, I won't hit the right place on his neck to knock him out. He is just inches from me and I step aside. I slam my hand down on the middle of his__ neck and he falls to the ground in what seems like slow motion. I can hear the __**ker-thunk**__ as his head hits the polished tile floor. _

_I turn my attention to three guns now pointed at me. The men grasping the guns are quaking; they're new and the now unconscious guy must have been the leader. Still, their guns are pointed at me. I don't want to shoot, I've never really shot a gun at anybody before, so I say as in a voice I hope isn't cracking with the anxiety, "Put down your weapons. I don't want to shoot." _

_One man steps forward, I think he's going to be the first to put the gun down and surrender but instead he shoots. I'm scared, but I know because he's shaking so badly__ because he's scared__ his shot won'__t hit me and I stand as still as possible. I only hope it didn't hit any of the other people around here. _

_I raise my gun and aim at the wall just behind his head. My hand is shaking, but I have to make this shot, if I don't they'll shoot again…I've never shot at a person…my hands are quaking…I have to make sure I don't hit him…I have to do this for Chrono and Azmaria and all the other people in here…because maybe…just maybe, if they're scared enough they might drop their weapons…or they would shoot everyone. I'm hoping for the former._

_I shoot and hear is echo throughout the entire terminal. It's so quiet, I've just noticed how quiet it got in here. _

_I see the bullet hole behind the mans' head as he drops, __quivering, to his knees; gun slid towards me. At this, the other two men drop immediately to the ground, arms up and weapons pushed forward, their arms up in surrender. I walk towards them, fingers searching for the rope as I watch them carefully. I kick the guns as I approach each._

_My fingers brush the rough texture of the rope and I haul it out of my backpack. It's times like these that I'm glad I have my 'emergency supplies.' I tie them to each other and a nailed down row of chairs._

_I walk t__o the payphones eyeing the tied up gunmen…I've just finished talking with the police operator on the other end of the line and I walk back towards the four gunmen, one already unconscious, and knock the other three on the neck. Their heads sag as their eyes close. _

_I want to get out as soon as possible. People have by now started getting up, applauding who-knows-what and crying. In the not too far distance I can hear police sirens. _

_I want to get out. I can'__t be found yet. Not yet._

I had been so afraid to shoot, what if I had hit the guy. Nobody probably knows, though, and that's all that matters.

Very sleepy I start to drift off to sleep as I think about how I'll contact my 'mother' and tell her that she was right (she was going to have a heart attack hearing that from me) just this once, and that I wouldn't be going home any time soon unless she found me.

…….

I wake up when the pilot announces that we'll be landing in Chicago and for us to buckle our belts. I quickly buckle my belt as a stewardess comes around and checks to make sure we've done what was asked, then we begin our decline down onto the awaiting strip of pavement below.

As we walk off I notice there are people here waiting for the other people and grinning, holding up signs with names, some smiling anxiously awaiting a person. I smile too as my heart throbs at the happy scene. I walk out to the front of the building and wave down a cab.

The man behind the wheel smiles kindly, "Where are you going, young man?"

I smile back, I'm a 'young man' in their eyes, "Oh, can you please take me to the bus station?" I ask, my mind wondering about the plan that had been formulating in my head since yesterday morning…maybe even before that, but I don't recall.

He shakes his head like he's amused, "Sure thing. More boys should be as polite as you." He turns around and starts driving. Hmm…polite? I blush, my mind had wandered off and my words turned out polite. I had actually been very impolite, not polite. Another thing Satella just couldn't remind me enough about.

"—man. Young man?" I turn my attention to the driver and blush, "Excuse me, what was that?"

He smiles, "We're at the bus station. Good luck." I smile, "Thank you." I say and hand him the money, with a decent tip.

I walk into the building and ask how much it would cost to buy a ticket right now. The girl has mouse brown locks and round glasses that enlarge her big brown eyes, she looked familiar. The girl looks a little annoyed at me then checks her computer.

Well I can't help it, I smirk back trying to give a charming boy-like smile she might swoon at. It works because when she looks up at my face her face reddens considerably and she stutters, "Uh-uh, if y-you want to b-buy a ticket to board a b-bus t-today it w-will be s-seventy-five d-dollars. Would—would you like to b-buy a ticket?" she looks quickly at my face then back down to her lap.

I can't help it; my smirk grows as I say in a purposely low, smooth voice, "Yes, that would be very helpful." I pull out four twenty dollar bills and look back up. The girl is looking straight at my face, studying it, she doesn't notice I've caught her staring at me but then she looks at my eyes. I wink at her and she looks down immediately, more blood rushing to her face as she has been caught staring at a stranger.

I hand her the money. She takes it and asks where I'll be going. I answer, still using my low, smooth voice, "Frankford, Michigan."

"Frankford, Michigan?" she looks up with surprise and I wonder if there isn't a bus going by there but she answers my worries with, "You're going there?" I nod and she smiles, "I used to live there. My name's Sarah, by the way." it's my turn to look surprised. Is this Sarah…Smith?

She looks a little confused at my look of surprise, "Sarah Smith. Um, could you do me a favor?" she asks. 'No wonder she looked so familiar.' "Yeah," I say, "Sure, what is it?"

"Well," she blushes a little, "You see, my little sisters are at the orphanage there, Seventh Bell, and I just moved here this year. And I've been moving around so I didn't give them an address, but now I'm living in an apartment with this other girl and I'm sure I can afford it now so I want to get in contact with them but," she laughs sheepishly, "I lost the address and information some time ago and I can't leave work yet, I'm new here…um, can you give my address to them, check how they're doing, and stuff?" she says this in one breath.

"Sure." I say, she was one of my friends once, I know who her sisters are, but ask, "What are your little sisters' names?"

"The older one's name is Nelly and the younger one is Ally. And, uh, the place is called Seventh Bell, wait…" she tears out a piece of paper, "I'll right this down so you don't forget." She doesn't really need to write this stuff down for me but I let her, if I say I know her and her sisters, that I'm an old friend, then that will blow my hard-earned cover.

"Oh, and my new address is right here." she says showing it to me then circling it with the pen. She hands me the slip of paper and says earnestly, "Thank you; you don't know how much I'm worried about those two. They're my only family." I do, though. Joshua's my only family, when I didn't know where he was I was always constantly worried and through all these years that we've been apart, in the back of my mind there was always a voice that said, 'Hurry up. Find Joshua. If you don't take care of him, then who will? He could be sick right now, hurry up! Get stronger! Get stronger so you can protect him.' I had sometimes wondered if he worried about me like that. Now I doubt he even thought of me at all.

I smile at her and ask about my ticket again, a look of realization crosses her face and she blushes, yet again, then says, "Oh my gosh, I almost forgot you still need a ticket." Sarah laughs nervously and sits back down to type on the computer than walks into another room and comes back with a ticket, smiling ear to ear she hands it to me. I give her the eighty dollars and she gives me back five dollars and some change.

I look at my ticket, it says the bus will be here in less than fifteen minutes, I look up surprised, "Wow, thanks."

She looks back and says, "No. I shouldn't even be asking this of you, and you're helping me. I should be the one thanking you."

I wait and we talk for the reminder of time. We talk about simple things.

The bus pulls up to the building and I sling my backpack over my shoulder, "That's the bus, right?" she nods but asks, "Is that all you have?" it's my turn to nod.

She makes a face that says 'oh' but then she smiles again and says, "Thanks again." I nod and say, "It's nothing." Then I walk to the awaiting bus.

A lot of people are getting off here and not many are on the bus anymore. I walk in and give my ticket to the driver; he rips off one end and hands it back to me. I walk to the very back and sit down, pulling my backpack from around me and putting it on my lap. I lean my head back and wait for the bus to start moving.

I feel the jolt as the bus lurches forward. I know I shouldn't fall asleep, but Frankford is two and a half hours away from Chicago, what could a little nap do? It would definitely help a lot, but no, I couldn't sleep. What if I fell asleep and missed the stop in Frankford and ended up all the back in Chicago? No I had to stay awake.

I searched through my backpack and found the mp3 player at the bottom of clothes, where I hadn't even touched it since first arriving in New York City. I took it out and checked the batteries; still good. I turned it on and flipped through the music, finally deciding to stop and listen to the song '_In the End'_ by Linkin Park. As I listened to it, the song seemed to fit my feelings…_I tried so hard…in the end…it doesn't even matter_…those words echoed through my head. It didn't even matter in the end, did it.

……

And before I knew it I was at the bus station in Frankford, Michigan. I got up, thanked the driver and was on my way. I walked through the busy little downtown area. I had almost forgotten how small this town was; just the bus station, the down town area littered with little shops and stores, a high school, middle/elementary school, and the orphanage on the edge of the woods bordering the little town. The forest around the town is a nature reserve.

I walked quickly through the streets filled with shops and towards the other end of town, where the orphanage is, where Joshua and I went our own ways.

I walked up to the door, making sure to pull my hood down a little further I knock on the door. Miss Jean opens it up and looks confusedly around me then asks, "What are you here for, child?" I smiled and looked up at her.

"Um…is there a job opening here? I just got out of high school," that wasn't a complete lie, I did just get out of high school, just no the way she probably though, "and I want to pursue a childcare career…" I paused and purposely looked around sheepishly a bit, "but I don't have any experience with children. I was hoping to get a job here for a little while." I blushed, "Um, I also don't have a place to stay right now…so…"

She smiled, "Of course. I would be happy to let you work here, and you should stay here to watch after the children too…but the pay isn't that well. The government pays us and well…" she looked away but I brightened up. This is going better than planned; I got a job plus a place to stay.

"That's o.k. Can I start today?" I asked.

Miss Jean laughs, "I was going to ask you if you would start today. I need to go to Chicago to get some materials. I would be grateful if you would start today. Come in." she stepped inside and said as I followed her, "I'll introduce you to the children and get a room set up for you also."

We stepped into the living room. I looked around, it was just as I remembered; nothing had changed at all in this room, the sofa was where it had been when I left, the lacy curtains still hung on the windows.

The caretaker walked up to a child that was dusting the room and said, "Danny, can you go call everyone to come to the living room?" the child nodded and skipped away. I could hear his shouts as he called for the other children to gather in the living room. Soon children were coming through the door whispering on why they had been called so suddenly, they didn't see me. I sat low on the coach that faced the window, turned away from them.

"Shush, children." Miss Jean said, then turned to the seat I was sitting in, "Would you like to introduce yourself?" she asked me.

I nodded and got up, pulling my hoodie down and shaking my blonde hair out I tied half of it up in a ponytail, leaving the other half hanging around my neck, I turned to face towards them. I looked at each of them and they looked back, "Hello." I said, they stood expectantly waiting for me to add onto that, "I'm Christopher." I said, then turned to Ms. Jean, letting her explain the rest.

"Christopher is going to be helping me." she said, "You have to do what he says."

A kid piped up, he looked to be about my age, "Heh, you can't be older than me." he said, I scowled, 'Billy, that annoying brat is still here.' "Actually," I say, "I'm much older—and stronger—" I added as I watched him size me up, "than you."

He sneered at that, but looked away as he mutters under his breath, "Yeah, right."

That's when Miss Jean decides to intervene, "O.k. children, please introduce yourself to Christopher."

A little girl about five with brown hair tied up on top of her head steps up, she looks like Sarah a little, "I'm Ally. I'm five years old." She holds up a hand. I smile, 'Ally's grown.'

There's a girl holding Ally's other hand, she has light brown shoulder length hair with bangs that are pulled back from her face with a red ribbon clip, I suspect that's Nelly, "I'm Nelly. Ally's my little sister, I have an older sister, too. Her name is Sarah, but she's not here." I smile, I'd show them the paper later.

Another kid steps up, "I'm Jonny." Soon all the kids step up, there are twenty kids total; nine girls and eleven boys, two of the boys look about the same age as me—sixteen. All the others are twelve or younger. You don't get kicked out until you're eighteen and Sarah was two years older than me so right now she's eighteen.

Miss Jean chooses three of the kids to go with her and she says to the rest, "Okay, listen to what Christopher says, he'll be working here from now on. And today I won't be here, I need to go down to Chicago to get some materials, I'll be back late this evening. There should be some things to make food in the refrigerator and cupboards." She walked towards me and whispered, "Your room is in this building on the second floor, it's the only one that hasn't been used in four years. If you can't find it, ask one of the kids, they should know where it is." With that she left the house.

"Everybody can go back to what they were doing—except Nelly, and Ally. Can you two come with me a minute?" They looked mortified, and Billy wouldn't budge out of the room either.

I look at Billy and say, "Go do what you were doing before. I would like to talk to Nelly and Ally alone." He sneers, "What? Are you an escaped child predator?" my patience thinning I say through gritted teeth, "Get out, Billy. This is none of your business." He doesn't move.

I walk towards him and say, "I'm not joking, kid. This is private family matters." He still doesn't move, stupid, stubborn kid that he is. Though he really isn't that much younger than me.

I'm right in front of him now and I start nudging him towards the door, "If they want to tell you, Nelly and Ally can tell you if they want—but after we're done talking, okay?" he is resisting me, pushing right back. At the end of my patience I grab his arm and twist it behind his back, pushing him like that out of the room, he's sixteen, he should understand when I say 'family matters' I mean it's only for the _family_ to hear.

I don't care that I'm hurting him, I can hear him as he tells me to let go. I push him out the door, following after him. I call over my back, "C'mon girls. We need to talk. Oh, and you need to show me to my room, too. Miss Jean said something about it being the only room that hasn't been used in four years."

I need to know where my room is, it's been so long, so why not hit two birds with one stone?

**--END CHAPTER NINE--**

**A/N: There. You got an insight on what Rosette felt when she was playing hero and where she is. It wasn't too disapointing, right? If not then...REVIEW!!! Reviews are very welcome! **


	10. Chapter 10 toilets

**A/N: HI! It's really late but I decided to get this out! It's really short but I couldn't find a better place to stop so...yeah. Oh, and THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS! **

**p.s. almost forgot. To answer Starlight's question; well, who do you think is more likely to escape and make it? Azzy or Rosette? That's all, Enjoy!**

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Chapter 10

(Chrono's POV)

I had just sent Azmaria off and it was time I headed back to the school. My mind was still trying to wrap around the fact that the person who had saved us from a gun happy man was none other than Christopher Rozet. Or rather: _Rosette._ Maybe it's just me being gay and my wishful thinking but I like the sound of that better, it fit, somehow, better than _Rozet_ had.

I rolled the name around my head as I got into the cab and asked him to take me back to the Magdalene High School. He did so murmuring something about youths these days being too impolite and not knowing how to talk to their elders. 'Strange. People usually say I'm polite, not the other way.' I smile a little at the thought

My mind was still reeling from the rather dangerous—and frightening—events that had occurred earlier this morning.

The driver pulled up to the school gate and told me the cost I handed him the money and got out. Now it was already around time fifth period ended. I didn't want to go back to classes…but neither did I want to go back to my cold empty dorm room. Okay, classes it is then. But I have to go back to my room to get my things. I heave a sigh. I would have to go to _both_ places.

I trudge into my room, quietly noting the dissipated warmth of the other person who lived here. 'I can't do anything about him running away, now'…guilt wracked my conscience…'but did I have anything to do with the reason he left?' I remember he was angry that day, he'd run out of the room after I wouldn't tell him what I did to my wrist. It's not like I _wouldn't_ tell him, it's more like I _couldn't_ tell him. If Aion found out that he knew…I shivered at the thought.

No, Rosette could not know.

I packed up my backpack. Notebooks, binders, folders, textbooks, I noted absently, 'Christopher Rosette. Rosette. _Rosette? _Damn. Why did he have to change his name so suddenly like that? Why did he make it so girly? And _WHY_ do I keep wishing for him to be a girl when I know that could never happen!? And…' a tiny voice at the back of my mind adds, 'even if he was a girl, which he's not, I would never have a chance with him. I would probably have even less of a chance with her—him!' I'm most confused and angry at myself.

I sling my backpack over my shoulder and start sprinting towards my sixth period class, fifth period is just ending. Might as well be early to sixth period, no point in being late.

I walked into the classroom and ambled towards my unofficially assigned desk in the back. I put my head down and wait for class to begin. I hate to be noticed. I guess I'm kind of anti-social, but that word might be a tad bit too strong; I got out and met people…like Rosette—I mean Christopher. Even I don't get why I call him Rosette sometimes. Sometimes. I _knew _why most of the time.

Because…that's just how I see him; as a girl. As Rosette not Christopher. Anyhow, Rosette matched her—him—better anyway.

"Chrono?" an energetic voice called, "Chrooooonoooooo? Heeellllllllllooooooooo?" Ugh. Shader.

I lift my head and mumble, "Yes, Shader?" Shader is my fifth period teacher, she teaches science and she's always happy and energetic for some odd reason. I don't know how she can be so happy all the time. Oh, and she's the only female teacher at Magdalene that isn't a nun.

"Chrono, are you excited? We're studying atoms today! Great, huh! Like nuclear fission and…" I forgot the rest of the things she said she was talking so fast. And it probably would've helped if I knew what she was talking about. I nodded my head anyway.

By the time she finished explaining what we'd be doing in class almost all the students had piled into the classroom, and she bounded up to the front explaining again what we'd be doing.

I listen intently now as she explains again.

……..

_DING _

_DING_

_DING _

_DING_

Seventh period; I walk in and sit down in the farthest seat from the front, laying my head on the desk, and wait for Rosette to arrive. I immediately shoot my head back up, she—he!—isn't here. When did I turn so love-y dove-y, waiting for him like this? I can't remember. I feel like such a drama king….

Seventh period passes in the wink of an eye. And before I know it, seventh period is over.

_DING _

_DING_

_DING_

_DING_

What am I going to do now? The collar of my uniform is yanked and I'm pulled out the door.

"Aion says you're comin'…or you're gonnna regret it." there's laughter from behind me and I turn around to see the coat tail disappear around a corner. I don't need to see his face to know who he is. Genai. I shudder; he's the one that always suggest hurting Rosette, I don't know if it's cause he actually wants to do it or if he just loves seeing me beg him not to. That's what scares me.

Well, at least that solves my problem of what to do?

They always expect to go to their room on my own. And I always go.

I start after Genai, following him towards their room. At least they're not doing…_THAT_ to me. I stop mid-step and try to stop a shiver from running through my body. But to no avail, a cold shiver runs through my body at the thought of what they _could've_ done to me…to _Rosette._

I hurry along after Genai. They couldn't do that to Rosette, I couldn't let it happen…not even after what I saw Rosette do today; Rosette, to me, was still…a girl, after all. Arg! Why do I keep coming to _that_ point? Stupid! Stupid! Stupid me! He was most definitely not a girl…never could be, no matter how much I wished it!

Before I knew it I was once again in _their_ room. Genai stood blocking the door, a sadistic grin plastered on his face. I looked in the other direction; Aion was standing in the doorway to another room. An asset to being one of the school's benefactors' sons I guess.

I blinked at him, "What do you want?" I stated simply, totally forgetting I'm supposed to be 'lower' than them. They were the low ones though; threatening Rosette so I would do what they said.

Aion feigned hurt. He wasn't good at it at all, anybody with a half—no, a _quarter_ of a mind would see through that expression. "Why, love," I winced at the term, "I simply want to show you just how much you…mean to me." he ended in a grotesque smile.

He started towards me, slowly, gracefully, too elegant for someone so vile.

I backed away, back towards the door. I knew my face was showing the terror that I felt; hard as I may try I couldn't hide it. My eyes were locked on his as I continued to back away.

_**SLAP!**_

There was a loud noise as I fell forward onto my face. The back of my skull felt like a jack hammer had drilled right into it. I steadied my hands on the floor and tilted my head back a little ways. Leering at me was Genai. Oh, yeah. I'd forgotten Genai was here. How could I? Maybe their hitting me on the head was finally taking its toll on me and making me brain damaged?

Yeah, maybe that was it. I got on my knees and started to slip and slid backwards; anywhere away from them.

They were cornering me. I noted as I felt two walls behind me, but it was too late to go anywhere else. Aion stepped around me, so he was in the corner. With surprise I started to turn around to look at him…but was stopped with a solid slap to the face by Genai. I turned to look up at him with pleading eyes. I wanted this to all stop.

Two warm arms wrapped around my waist. I started to lean back into them instinctively when a chilling voice cooed in my ear, "Now, now, Genai. Let's…have a little fun with our…baby…while we can. He should be ready for this now." His hands started sliding down my sides. I freeze. This couldn't be happening.

I wrenched away from his embrace and turned to look back at him, "Wh-what are you doing?" I ask. A strong arm pushes me down again and I start to fall to the one place I'd never want to be. In the arms of Aion Rennis.

He pushes me away with disgust written on his face, "Did you think I was serious?" he laughs, "Better luck in your dreams." And with that he's back on his feet. I'm still on my knees. I open my mouth to say something but am cut off as a boot kicks the middle of my back. My air comes rushing out and I fall gasping.

The onslaught begins. Kicks are given zealously to my body. Suddenly I'm lifted up by my collar and staring into Aion's cold lilac eyes. He knees my stomach and my body instinctively tries doubling over. I'm stopped by another knee to the same place.

Then one of his hands are clasped around my neck, holding my against the wall, and he's punching me in the gut with the other. He squeezes the hand around my neck, successfully cutting off my air. I start gasping, more than before. My hands are up and weakly grabbing at his hand, trying to pry it from around my neck. I don't want to die. I don't want to die yet. Rosette still needs someone to protect her—him!

Suddenly the ground disappears from under my feet. My hands are still clawing at Aion's hand, weaker now, slower now. It's too soon! I can't die yet! Someone still needs to protect Rosette! She—he isn't as strong as everyone thinks! He needs someone to lean on. He needs me! I need you, Rosette! The edge of my vision is turning dark. I need you…save me…Rosette…everything's turning darker…darker…darker…save…me…Rosette…save…me…

**--END CHAPTER TEN--**

**A/N: Yep. So you'll just have to wait for the next, next chapter (that's not a typing error by the way). I hope you liked it! If you did--or didn't--leave a review! **


	11. Chapter 11 Regret

**A/N: Wow. I've gotta say I'm surprised. This story has got a lot more attention than I thought it would get. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and I hope you like this chapter...though I didn't think it came out too well. Anyways, enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: Use your common scence, of course I don't own. If I did I wouldn't be writing on _FAN-_fiction. **

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**Chapter 11**

(Rosette's POV)

I can hear their footsteps following behind us. When I have Billy in the hallway I stop and let go of his arm, then start towards the stairs, the girls hesitantly follow after me, holding tight to each others' hands and whispering. I turn right when I step into the second floor hallway; I wait for them on the landing. They come up behind me and ask what I'm doing. Well, I don't know where exactly the room is so I ask them.

"O-okay. I'll show you." Nelly says hesitantly and starts leading me to a room. She opens the door and I step into the room, beckoning the two girls to follow. I fall backwards onto the bed, letting out an exasperated sigh.

"Okay, close the door please." Nervously Nelly closes the door. 'Why the hell are they so nervous? It's not like I'm going to try killing them.' "Come over here, Nelly." I search through me backpack for the slip of paper Sarah had written on. Nelly is standing in front of me, she is nervously fidgeting, "Give me your hand." I order. She does this and I stick the piece of paper in it. Nelly looks down with surprise and then looks back up at me questioningly.

"Open it." I say laying back on the bed, and bringing my hand up to cover my eyes I sigh.

I hear her stutter, "S-S-Sarah?" she tugs at my shirt, I raise my eyes lazily, "This is from Sarah?"

"Yeah." I mutter, "What were you so nervous about anyway? What did you think I was going to do? Kill you?" now I turn my full attention on her.

"Uh-uh," she's blushing, "Uh-w-well a-a-after B-b-Billy said th-that thing about y-you being a ch-ch-child p-p-predator…well-uh-uh…" she pauses and looks away blushing as I ask, "You didn't really believe that clown did you?" she blushes redder than before looking down ashamedly she nods her head. I laugh. Oh, god, do I laugh. That is too hilarious.

She looks at me confusedly and timidly while Ally walks up to her grabbing her hand and walks to me her face defiantly looking up she says, "See, Nelly, told you he wasn't _bad._" She makes a face at the word 'bad.' I laugh even harder. This is probably the most I've laughed in a while and, god, does it feel good to be able to laugh again.

I wipe the tears from my eyes and say, "No, Nelly, I'm not _bad_." I try to imitate Ally's face, she starts laughing at my face and I giggle back.

When I finally pull myself together I say, "Sarah wants you to write to her. She said she's sorry, she couldn't write to you because she accidently lost the address and phone number a while ago."

"Oh, really?" then the two girls smile happily and Nelly turns back to face me with a look of total shame, "Um, I'm sorry I judged you like that. And…thanks for giving me this." She holds up the slip of paper. I smile and nod, "No problem, I brought you up here because I didn't know if this was something private or not, I didn't want to invade anyone's privacy. And uh," it's my turn to smile sheepishly, "I didn't know where my room was." I paused to think of what to do next, "Now. You should probably go finish what you were doing before, I'll come down in a minute. Oh, Can you introduce me to the other kids better? I want to get to know all of you."

Ally lets go of my hand and smiles then says, "Okay, hurry up." then she's out the door, dragging her sister with her. I smile and say to her retreating back, "Yeah. I'll just be a minute." Nelly turns around and waves a little then closes the door behind them.

I fall back onto the bed.

"AH!" I jolt back up. What was that? It felt like someone was calling me and I was dying to answer. It felt like my heart was being pulled out of my chest to some other place.

My insides were twisting nervously, my heart pounding. What was happening? What the hell was going on? My heart gave another wrench and I grabbed at my chest. Something was wrong, very wrong. But…what? My breath is starting to get uneven and my hands are steadied on my legs, I need to get downstairs, what if something was seriously wrong?

I suck in a breath and I start gasping. I try to steady my breathing and I collapse onto the floor of my new room and suddenly my room is filled with children fretting…what was happening? This had never happened before? What was wrong? The edge of my vision is turning dark; the darkness is slowly taking over my sight. The last thing I see is Ally's panicked face, but what about Joshua and…Chrono…was he okay? My heart lurches as I think about him ...oh god…maybe he was hurt…I didn't even get an answer on what he'd done to himself…maybe he was hurting right now…Chrono…what's wrong…Chro…no…

……

I stared at the white. Where was I?

I heard voices around me, some were crying. What's wrong? I sit up, blinked and turned my head to the side, "What's wrong?"

Suddenly little arms were thrown around me. Around my neck were the arms of Ally, she's sniffling, "C-Christopher. Are-are you 'kay?"

"Uh, yeah." I say rubbing her back and getting onto my feet. What had happened? I remember feeling a pain, someone calling me, and…Chrono! Was he alright!? I start in a hurry towards the door but stop. What am I thinking, of course he's okay. He doesn't need me. And he's not here either. I should be worrying about the children.

I turn back around and walk towards said bunch of children, "Is everyone alright? What happened?"

Nelly speaks up, Ally clinging onto her hand, sniffling, "We-we don't know. I was downstairs and heard a loud sound so I came up." the children around her nod their heads in agreement, "And-and," she has a panicked look on her face, "and when we came up you were on the ground. You were breathing funny. And I didn't know what to do. I was going to go and get Billy and the bigger kids but I didn't want to leave you alone. I-I was so scared." I can see tears starting in the corners of her eyes, "I-I'm sorry."

I rush up to her and wrap her in a hug, "Oh, it's okay. You did nothing wrong." She bursts into tears as all the other kids also start crying. Great.

They all gather around me and say that they're sorry they didn't know what to do, that they were so scared, I try to wrap them all in a hug which doesn't happen but they cling onto me so that works too. I pat their heads and repeat the words, "It's alright. You did nothing wrong." They're still children; they wouldn't know what to do.

When I finally quieted all of the children down it was time to start preparing supper and I rushed the bunch into the dining room to start setting up.

………

I had made all the children go to bed and I was sleeping alone in the main house now. Kind of spooky. What happened to those two other assistants that were here when I was here with Joshua? Maybe they left, who knows? They were really horrible though, they didn't look after us very well. They left us to cook our own meals and never watched the little kids when they were sick. That's how Sarah had grown so good at cooking, and me, at watching kids. Those two girls always hated Joshua, too, because he was sick so often. They would say such mean things about him, and within my hearing too. I always got so mad and wanted to beat the guts out of them for saying those things. I hated them for hating my brother just because he was sick.

My face is marred by anger now, because of the thoughts of the two horrible women. Gwen and Olive. Or as they were introduced, _Miss Gweneth Lamberski _and _Miss Olivia O'Conner._ Nice names for horrible harpies.

My heart jolts again. What's happening? Chrono? My heart bolts again. Was something happening with Chrono? What could've happened? I hope he isn't cutting himself. I'm so worri—I jerk up, sitting. He…was also one of the reasons I came, wasn't he.

_**CRASH!**_

_**KA-BOOM!**_

I bolt of lightening lights up my room. Then the sound of heavy rain starts pitter-pattering on the ceiling above me, this is strange weather for October. I wrap my arms around my knees and curl into myself. I've always hated thunderstorms and the dark…because I always felt so alone. It wasn't so bad when Joshua was here…and it wasn't so bad when I knew Chrono was here…but neither of them were here.

I here a door open and a scramble of feet walking around downstairs. My eyes widen in horror as I hear little voices sing ring-around-the-rosy. I pull the blanket up over my head. I was just imagining things. There were no such things as ghosts! There were no such things as ghosts!

The sound of wet feet are climbing up the stairs and the voices are getting slightly louder.

_**KA-BOOM!!!**_

The room was lit in white light as I try to curl further into the blankets. It's dark again, the rain outside is pounding on the ceiling, the voices are getting closer. There's a soft thudding of multiple feet standing outside my door. I start shivering. There are no such things as ghosts! The door knob is creaking, as if being twisted and turned.

_CREAAAK_

The door slides slowly open. The hallway is dark, I don't see anybody.

_**CRASH!!!**_

_**KA-BOOM!**_

_**KA-BOOM!!!**_

My room is bathed in light and as I stare at the doorway I see little bodies dressed in white. Suddenly they're rushing towards me.

"AHHH! Christopher!" a little girl has hold of my waist and won't let go. I let out a relieved sigh, there are no such things as ghosts, only scared little children who want to sneak into my bed.

A boy is snuggled deep into my side. More children are snuggled in around me and the blankets; among them I notice Nelly and Ally. Ally is one of the little girls who are holding my waist. I pat them on the head, "Don't scare me like that again." I say.

Ally looks up at me, "You-you were s-scared?"

I smile sheepishly, "Y-yeah. Of you guys. I thought you were little ghosts out to get me or something." I try to laugh lightly. Ally and the other children snuggle closer to me.

"Can we sleep here?" a voice asks.

"And who are 'we'?" I ask back.

Ally answers, "Me, Nelly, Sonia, Ashley, Kelly, Anny, Nina, Betty, Ellen, and the boys." I look questioningly at one of the said boys, "So, do you want to introduce yourselves, boys?" I ask.

The boy smiles shyly and nods saying, "I'm Andrew, he's Danny," he's pointing at some of the other boys around the bed now, "Eugene, Ethan, Adam, Ben, Ja—"

_**KA-BOOM!!!**_

The kids scramble under the blankets as the room is once again bathed in white light for a second before everything turns dark again. I wait, then get up and hesitantly put my feet over the edge of the bed. I start towards the light switch and turn it on. The room is immediately lit. I turn back towards the boy who I think said his name was Andrew, "Better?"

He nods and starts again where he left off, "That's James, Johnny, and Ken." Okay, so practically all the kids had come. Andrew yawns, the other kids fallow suit.

_**CRASH!**_

_**KA-BOOM!!**_

The kids don't try to hide in the blanket this time, instead they look at me. I start back towards the bed. "Aren't you going to turn off the lights?" Danny asks. I shake my head, "Nah. It's better with them—" I stop mid-sentence as the lights start to flicker. I look up at the ceiling light. It's shaking, as though being blown in a wind and it's flickering on and off. It flickers one more time before it turns off completely.

I hear screams from outside and rush towards the kids sitting, tightly holding each other, in my king size bed. This must be the reason it's king sized. Suddenly there are feet pounding up the stairs and the children around me start shaking, terrified. I pull the blanket up around us and they squish closer to me.

The door to my room is thrown open as the lightening flashes from outside. In that instance all I see are silhouettes of two people. Then the room is veiled in darkness again and the two silhouettes move towards us.

"What the heck happened to the lights!?" one of the silhouettes yells. I sigh, what's with all the dramatic entrances anyway? Billy.

"Yeah. Do ya know what happened to the lights, Christopher?" a much quieter voice asks.

I finally look up and snarl, "Did you have to make such a grand entrance, Billy, Ryan? You scared us half to death with that scream of yours." The children around me look up and nod at the other boys. Billy says in an indifferent voice, "We were startled. We had the lights on and we were playing cards. Then the lights just suddenly turn off. How do ya think we felt? Calm and happy?"

"Well," I say calmer now, "I don't know what happened to the lights. Probably has something to do with the thunderstorm outside, though."

"Oh." They say and start towards the bed. Ryan's the first to ask, "Uh-um, Christopher?"

"Yeah?" I say, I'm searching through the drawer for some candles. "Uh-uh, um, can we uh…stay in here…tonight?"

I turn around, five candles in hand, "Why?" I push, I start towards my backpack for the pack of matches.

"Well…uh…" he nudges Billy, "You tell him Billy." He hisses.

Billy looks annoyed at him then his face pales when Ryan leans over and says something in his ear, "Yeah, Christopher, can we stay in here tonight?" he says eagerly, desperately.

I strike the matches and light the candles, laying them around the room, "Are you going to tell me why?"

"Why do we have to?" Billy snaps, "The little kids are sleeping here, too, aren't they?"

I nod, "Yeah, they are. But they told me why. They said they were scared. Now didn't you, kids?" I turn back to face the little children still huddled together in my bed, Billy and Ryan were sitting on the edge of the bed, they nodded looking at the other boys.

"Fine." Billy says darkly, but his face pales as he starts talking, "But I didn't want to scare the little kids. Anyway when me and Ryan were alone in the dorms after you guys left," he said pointing at the bunch of little children, "and it was just after you guys left. We heard singing. Of course we dismissed it as, ya know, the wind. We thought we were just hearing things. But then the singing grew louder and we could clearly hear the words."

I frown at them as I start towards the bed, "Stop right there if you're just trying to scare the kids." I say.

Ryan shakes his head, "He's not lying, Christopher. Listen, okay?"

"Fine," I say, "So what were the words then."

Billy looks shaken and he turns away, "I-I don't want to say." I'm starting to get really scared but I'm not going to fall for it if it's just a lie, "Repeat one sentence of the song or else I'll know you're lying and kick you out." I say.

His head turns sharply towards me, "Okay, okay. This was what we heard okay. I've never heard it before," Billy starts in a sing song voice, the melody is sad and…somehow nostalgic, "_When stars fall, love, I'll catch every one for you. When the day ends, darling, I'll die for you.__" _Billy doesn't stop, "_and when the rain falls, dear, I'll shelter you. And we'll be together till the end of time, yes, love, we'll be together till the end of time, through life and death. The good and the bad times we'll share for all eternity. And, yes, darling, when the stars fall I'll catch every one for you. When the rain falls, love, I'll always shelter you. But__dear, when the day ends we'll die too, and I__'ll die for you. Then we'll be together for all of time, forever and always. __I'll be there.__"_ Billy opens his eyes. There are tears in my eyes, I wipe them away. What was with me today? I didn't even know the song, never even heard it before.

Ryan is looking right at me as he talks in a hushed voice, "Yeah, that happened to us too. We just started bawling. We were frozen to the spot and couldn't move, and we just kept crying. Then the voice was right outside our door."

Billy's talking again, "The door kept jiggling, like someone was trying to open it, and the whole time the voice kept singing. Then the lightening struck and the lights started flickering. We just got freaked. We dropped the cards and ran here. Okay? Happy?"

I stare at him, "You're not lying are you?" I say.

They both shake their heads violently, "Uh-uh, man, we're not kidding about that. We can stay here, right?" I nod and they let out a relieved sigh.

I go over the words of the song in my head as the others lay down and start to fall asleep:

_"When stars fall, love, I'll catch every one for you._

_When the day ends, darling, I'll die for you,_

_and when the rain falls, dear, I'll shelter you._

_And we'll be together till the end of time,_

_yes, love, we'll be together till the end of time,_

_through life and death. The good and the bad times_

_we'll share for all eternity. And, yes, darling,_

_when the stars fall I'll catch every one for you._

_When the rain falls, love, I'll always shelter you._

_But, dear, when the day ends we'll die too,_

_and I'll die for you._

_Then we'll be together_

_for all of time,_

_f__orever and always._

_I'll be there.__"_

"You sound just like the voice did, when we heard it. But…we couldn't tell if it was a girls' voice or a guys…" Ryan whispers. He startled me, I didn't notice I was singing the song out loud either, "So, you weren't just kidding then." I say.

"Of course we weren't kidding." He says, "I really heard that voice. I cried. It was so sad and…" he pauses to think, "and…hopeful…in a way…" he drifts off and I'm left to ponder his words and my thoughts. And…what about Chrono. A voice in my head asks. Yes, and Chrono.

What Chrono left me wondering was if he was really going to be alright without me. I scoff at myself, why was I thinking like this? He was doing just fine before I came along, he would do just fine after I disappeared…right? It would've been like I never existed. But…did I want him to live like I never existed? Like I never came into his life? Like I never met him? Did I want to live like I never met him?

No. I would never want to live like that. In this and any life I'm sure I would have been more than happy to have met Chrono. No matter what happens, I'm sure I would never regret meeting him. Never.

…What I'm more worried about is if he regrets meeting _me._

**--END CHAPTER ELEVEN--**

**A/N: So...um...How'd you like that? I didn't like this chapter too much but...yeah, I guess I'll just have to deal for now. Well, anyways be kind and REVIEW! They're always appreciated! **


	12. Chapter 12 Brother

**A/N: Okay the chapter you guys have been waiting for...right? This one's kinda short but has some important stuff. Enjoy!**

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Chapter 12

(Chrono's POV)

_**SPLASH**_

I couldn't breath. I pushed my head up and looked around me.

"So, sleeping beauty finally decided to wake up." Genai is standing beside me. I look behind me, Aion is standing there also sneering, "You didn't think we'd let you fall asleep and miss out on all the fun now did you?" before I know what's happening my head is pushed back underwater. I fight back trying to get a breath of air, I swallow water instead.

The hand that's pressing me finally let's up enough that I can take my head out of the water. I gasp and look around disoriented again. I'm in a bathroom; the door behind Aion is open, beyond it is his dorm room. So, this must have been the room he was coming out of when I came. I don't know how long ago that was. I blanch. They had stuck my head in the toilet. I had taken in a gulp of toilet water.

Aion smirks at the expression on my face. I start crawling away from the toilet.

"OW!" my head is snapped back by my hair. I turn around to see that Genai is clutching my braided hair. What am I supposed to do now? Well, I don't have to wait long to find out. Genai starts dragging me by my hair back towards the toilet. When I'm kneeling in front of the toilet my head is once again dunked into the water. I open my mouth to take a breath before my head is plunged under the water but I'm too late and almost swallow another mouthful of water.

I put my hands on the rim of the toilet and try to raise my head out of the water but don't even make an inch before hands are once again pressed to my head and I'm dunked under again, my chin scraping the bottom of the toilet.

I can't breath. I'm drowning...drowning…but…at least…Rosette…is okay…right…? It feel like I've been underwater for an eternity now, I can't stay awake any longer…it's better…if I'm asleep…because…at least…then…I can…pretend…Rosette is…mine…

…

I stumbled into my room, it was late, they had let me off only after I had gained conscience and they had had more 'fun' with me. My stomach twisted, I cover my mouth with my hand as I stumble towards the trash. Toilet water isn't good for anybody. I lean over the garbage can on my knees and start puking.

Well what else was bound to happen when you drank toilet water.

I sat against the wall next to the garbage can and dabbed my mouth with a napkin I'd grabbed on my way to the trash can. I hugged my knees to my chest, wrapping my arms around my legs, I placed my head on top of my knees. I closed my eyes. Good thing Rosette wasn't here. She—he would hate me. I'm so…disgusting.

A few tears slip from my eyes and I quickly wipe them away, I could never cry in front of anybody, I reminded myself. I could never cry, period. I'd promised myself with mother's dying words that I was too dependent, too weak to do anything for anyone. And I didn't want to be weak anymore; I didn't want to be dependent anymore. So I promised myself not to cry, for anything…or anyone. So…why was I crying now? For Rosette? He didn't even like me, right? He was just an infatuation, a little crush. Just my admiration for his strength…right? That was all.

That was all.

But…then…why am I wondering where Rosette is? Where had he gone? Because…now that he's gone it seems like he was never here. His clothes were still here, his blankets and sheets still on his bed—but those could've belonged to anyone—his warmth was gone. The one thing that still held some meaning were the pajamas, the one's she—he said were one of a kind. But…I knew…with time they would also lose her—his warmth too.

I peeked up from behind my bangs to look at the bed that Rosette had once occupied. It stood there in the same place it had always been, the same way it had always been. And it was hard now to think that once Rosette had lived here, too.

I crawled up slowly from my position and walked to my drawer. I looked through the top drawer and pulled out the pair of blue pajamas. I changed and started towards my bed. I laid there for what must have been an hour at least then I got up.

I couldn't sleep. What was wrong with me? I kept thinking about Rosette, worrying about her—him!

I edged towards the other bed. My thoughts were too crazy right now. 'What ifs' kept running through my head. What if the plane he was in crashed? What if some crazy whack-job was stalking him right now? What if there were dangerous illegal poisonous snakes slithering around the planes' air vents? What if… and the list went on. I knew they were irrational but I couldn't help it, I was worried.

I clambered onto Rosette's bed and crawled under the blankets and sheets taking a deep breath, they still smelled of him. Like sweet pea blossoms, and wild honey. I surprised myself, I never realized I even noticed his smell before. I shake my head, something was seriously wrong with me. I'm noticing a _guys'_ scent for heavens sake. Well…maybe not as wrong as I think, I did practically fall for him. It wouldn't really be that strange to notice his smell, would it?

Would it? I closed my eyes, no, it wasn't that strange…at least I hope it isn't. I just wish I knew if he lov-liked me too, because, odd as it was, I liked him a lot—I liked him more than I probably should, if only he felt the same for me. If only…

I took a deep breath—in…out—then lay flat on my back and stared at the ceiling, for what felt like an eternity, just thinking of Rosette…and…the short amount of time we had spent together. Then, not for the first time, I wondered if he would even come back. Because if he did, I know, he would come back to be with Joshua…not to bother with thinking or seeing me. The thought jerks at my heart, the chain that tugs at my eyes, and unplugs the cork that was holding back the tears till now.

I can feel warm tears sliding down the side of my face and into my long hair. It seems like the tears won't ever stop, but I know better, there is only so much water in my body to turn into this salt-water substance that I so hate myself for. I plunge into my fitful sleep this way, and ask why it was Rosette that I had to fall for…but you can't help who you fall in love with, can you? No, and I don't regret that it is him I have fallen for.

OoOoO

It's been three weeks. Three weeks since he's left me. But he was never _with_ me to begin with, was he?

I can feel eyes burning into the side of my head. I turn to look. It's Aion.

And it's been the same routine for these past three weeks, too. Get up, go to school, go to Aion's room, get beat up, go back to my dorm room, inspect my wounds, sleep, get up, go to school, go to Aion's room, ect. The cycle just kept repeating itself over and over. The beatings were getting worse and worse…and…I'm reluctant to admit, but I was getting worn out.

I looked through my agenda: Monday, November 12, 2007, almost Thanksgiving. We'd have Thanksgiving break on the 21st through the 27th, and the other kids could go to back to their families for Thanksgiving. They let students stay here if they wanted to though, and that was a relief because I would have nowhere to go if I was kicked out.

Aion and Genai leave every year to be with their families. Thank God. Maybe I could have a rest from these horrible beatings for a week.

I turn back to look at the front of the room.

_DING _

_DING _

_DING_

_DING _

_DING _

I look around me. I was so lost in thought I hadn't noticed the warning bell had already rang. Everybody was packed up and they rushed out the door at the sound of the bell. I packed up and followed suit.

I hurried through the door and ran through the hallway with my head down, trying not to draw attention to myself. This just caused more problems because the next thing I know I've landed on the floor. I looked up as I heard, "I'm sorry, are you okay?"

"Oh, Father Remington," I said, "Uh-yeah. Yeah, I'm okay." I took the hand he offered and stood up.

I started to walk off but stopped mid-step. I'd almost forgotten, my stash of bandages were running low. I only had half a roll left. And I didn't trust that that would be enough to last me a week. I needed to go see Remington tonight…and I was already dreading it because lying to him was starting to feel so wrong, especially when he looked at me with concerned eyes.

I hurried into my next class and looked out the window. My thoughts rushed to Rosette and the question of why he changed his name. My thoughts then wandered onto other things about her—him!—like her scent, did he wear perfume? Why did he smell so sweet? Like sweet pea blossoms and honey. Honey, that was the color of her—his—hair, honey blonde.

Before I knew it the bell that signaled the end of the day rang. Genai was waiting on the other side of the door, I didn't need to see to know. He would tell me I had been 'invited' to Aion's room, and, of course, I would fallow him. Then the beatings would start.

And, of course, like I predicted, there standing beside the door when I stepped outside was Genai.

"You're to come to Aion's room." he whispered as he passed me and waved to a person standing behind me. I turned around to see who the person was. Well, it was none other then Joshua. A frown marred his features as he stood there, arms crossed over his chest. Before Genai was even ten feet away he suddenly shouted, "YOU ARE SO LOW! I _KNOW_ YOU SAID SOMETHING! WHAT DID YOU SAY!? WHAT!? DO YOU _KNOW_ HOW LOW I LOOKED THEN!? _DO YOU!!?_ I TOLD YOU TO STOP! I SAID 'NO.'!! BUT DID YOU LISTEN!? _NO_! YOU JUST HAD TO CHASE HER WITH YOUR HORNY ASS, DIDN'T YOU! _THEN_ IF THAT WASN'T ENOUGH, YOU SAID SOMETHING TO _HIM_ THAT MADE _HER—HIM!—_MISUNDERSTAND ME! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT SHE THINKS OF ME NOW! JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU SAID TO HER—WHAT YOU SAID TO _HIM!_ TELL ME! IF YOU DON'T…" his voice grew quiet and icy, his eyes seemed like an assassins' dagger, "I'll never forgive you. You're no longer a friend of mine."

Wow. Okaaay. I turned away and started towards the library. But their conversation kept running through my head. Who was he talking about? Whose opinion did Joshua care so much about? And as I ran the words through my head again I grew even more confused. Was he talking about _two_ people? He used 'him' and 'her' interchangeably, almost like he'd confused himself somehow. What _was_ that all about? Joshua had never even mentioned the name of the person whose opinion he cared so much for.

I opened the door to the library, I didn't even bother to check if I had any books in; I hardly had time to read them anymore anyway. I went towards a random bookshelf and picked up a book. _Twilight_. _Twilight,_ huh? I opened the front flap, this book seemed to be a book for girls, but…it sounded…interesting. It was about a girl, Bella, moving into a small, overcast, town with her father. She goes to school and sees this perfect family, what she doesn't know is that they're vampires. She falls for one of the vampires, Edward, and he also falls for her. I close the book and am about to put it back on the shelf when my curiosity gets the better of me. Why would the girl fall for a _monster_? I didn't understand. I'm sure there were other guys she could've gone out with. I picked up the book and decided I would read it. See if I could find out why Bella would fall for such a monster.

……

I knocked on the door. It was slowly opened and I stepped in. I knew I was in for it today, I had come much later than usual and I'm pretty sure Genai's angry at Joshua. That anger is most likely going to be redirected at me. The door closed loudly behind me.

"You're late, love." Aion said sweetly from somewhere. I looked around the room for him, he was standing at the open window, facing outside. The cold wind blowing in blew his hair away from his face as he turned slightly to glance at me. The look in his eyes…

"We should skewer that friggen' bastard, Joshua." Genai hissed out the name as if it were vile poison, "We should beat the shit out of him for humiliating me like that."

"Now, now." Aion turned all the way around, leaning on his hands and sitting on the edge of the window sill, "We should get to the _root_ of the problem, _Christopher Rozet_." At this he smirked and turned towards me. My fear laden eyes looked him up and down, "Wh-what?" I stuttered, "N-no. NO!"

In one swift move I was on my back, a weight pressed to my neck. "You will _never_ interrupt me while I'm speaking." Aion hissed. I nodded and he smiled, "Good. We have an understanding."

He slowly got up, "As I was saying before I was _rudely_ interrupted," he kicked me before he went on, "We should deal with the _root_ of the problem. It was _his_ fault you were humiliated, wasn't it." Genai glanced towards him as he continued, "Honestly, though, how did such a weakling like Christopher beat you and your gang? Then being ditched by your group too? _And_ being yelled at by none other than, ever gentle, Joshua Christopher? My, my, how did you get so low?" Aion looked innocently at Genai who glowered and glared at him. This would have been an amusing sight had this been a different situation.

Genai pulled his arm back and turned around, getting ready to hit the wall he had been leaning against when Aion said, "Did you forget? We have our own punching bag right here. No need to go and ruin a perfectly innocent wall."

Genai grinned and started towards me, "Right. No need to ruin a wall when we already have a punching bag." I was on my knees and about to stand up as he slammed his fist into my gut, I flew backwards as I felt air rush out from my mouth.

"Not to mention," Genai said as he walked 'daintily' towards me, "a hacky-sack, too." He kicked me in the chest, and I rolled over onto my back. He pinned down my outstretched right arm with one of his foot, the other coming around to kick me in the ribs. I tried to pull away but was stopped by a harsh jab to my throat.

I looked up. Aion sneered at me from above, his foot shoved securely against my neck, as Genai continued his kicking. It hurt…but I wasn't going to let them know. I glared defiantly up at him and he faltered then looked at Genai and smirked, turning back to face me.

I continued to glare defiantly and he glared back. Suddenly he laughed, my glare slipped and was replaced by a face of total confusion. Aion turned back to me, "Glare all you want, you're still just a _low_, _worthless_, _replaceable_ _son-of-a-bitch._ A waste of time, really." Then he spit on my face, I turned my face to the side and the wad of saliva lands on my cheek. I reached up to wipe it away with my free hand, only to find that my free hand had also now been pinned down. I lay stretched as if I was going to be crucified.

I looked up at Aion. He'd taken his foot from my throat now…but I stare in horror as he rams his foot in stomach. I immediately gasp, trying to draw in a breath. I try to curl back up onto my side but with the position I'm in it doesn't do any good.

He jabs his foot down again, this time on my sternum. The little breath that I've managed to regain rushes out again and I'm left wheezing for air.

"T-tell me," I whisper in my out of breath state as they continue their onslaught, "Wh-why-why do you h-hate me so? Wh-what did I e-ever do t-to y-you?"

Aion pauses for a moment and looks out the window and I think I see a look of total betrayal cross his face before his face once again hardens and he glowers at me, "I've told you already, ignorant fool." he hisses, Genai pauses to look at him and stops kicking. Thank god.

"I've told you," Aion's voice is slowly rising, "I've told you that it's your fault. BECAUSE YOU WERE BORN! YOU WERE BORN!!!" he turns toward the window away from us, "If you hadn't been born…If you weren't here…" his voice is so quiet, it's just above a whisper now.

Suddenly he turns around and glares at me with accusing eyes, his voice a hiss again, "It's all your fault, you son-of-a-bitch. You shouldn't have been born. You shouldn't be here. I…Father…Mother…" he turns around again as his voice softens, "Leave. Leave now."

Genai looks with bewilderment from me to him, then he glares at me accusingly too.

Aion turns back around, his eyes are glassy and red-rimmed, "You're still here…brother. LEAVE! LEAVE, RIGHT NOW!!! LEAVE! LEAVE ALREADY!!!"

I back away and hurriedly stumbled through the door; it's slammed behind me as I start running through the halls and towards the stairs as fast as I can. I can still hear Aion screaming for me to leave.

What was going on? I stumbled across the pavement, and through the bare cheery trees. What had just happened back there? Something was _very_ wrong. Why did Aion suddenly snap? I scrambled up the stairs, stumbling on a few steps and falling down a few times. Why did he let me leave so early? I grabbed for my key and shoved it into the lock, opening the door. I staggered inside, closing the door securely behind me. I sunk down against the wall next to Rosette's bed.

Through all that one question rang the loudest: Why had he called me brother? Was he calling out for his brother (I didn't know he had one)? Or was he just being overly dramatic? Or…was it something else entirely.

I grabbed at my hair. If only Rosette was here. She—he was a comforting presence that I would welcome in a jiffy. He was the only reason I was still taking the beatings. I could stop at any time I want, Aion promised me, but he would do everything he was doing to me—and more—to Rosette.

And I couldn't let him do that to Rosette. Not _my_ Rosette.

I blush. I was doing it again. Calling him mine, what was I thinking? I thought I'd given up on my feelings for him. I thought I'd let Azmaria get him. It's never as easy as that, though, is it? I heaved a sigh and crawled into Rosette's bed, snuggling tightly into the blankets that still smelled of bsweet pea blossoms and honey, of her—him! Whatever. I snuggled deeper into the sweetly scented folds of blankets, dreaming that Rosette was here.

**--END CHAPTER TWELVE--**

**A/N: 'kay, how was that? Not too good? Not too bad? Well...REVIEW! Let me know! **


	13. Chapter 13 Realizing

**A/N: Okaaaay...um...I'm REALLY, _SERIOUSLY _sorry. Please, please, please, PLEASE forgive me! But, yeah, Enjoy!**

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Chapter 13

(Rosette's POV)

Three weeks. That's how much time has passed since I'd left school. I wasn't going to fall behind though, I knew that for sure. I was taking online courses. It was a bit difficult to understand, especially since I didn't have Chronos' notes to look at, nor was he here to explain the difficult math…but all that usually led me to worry about him. And that definitely was not helpful when I was trying to concentrate on the God damned math problems. Still, I couldn't help but to worry about Chrono. I was scared. Scared, for some reason, that when I returned to the school…he wouldn't be there anymore.

I looked at the math problems I was currently 'working' on. It wasn't even started yet. I really had to finish this right now. It's about 11:00 pm, but this is one of the only times I wasn't today; when I woke up this morning three of the little kids and both the oldest kids here were sick, then Miss Jean said she had to go into the city again and practically _begged_ me to take care of them all. That included the ones that weren't sick. Then just after lunch Miss Jean called apologizing like crazy and said she wouldn't be able to make it back today.

After lunch another kid was found out to be sick, too, after he threw up everywhere. There was the mopping up of the vomit, then taking care of the kid while asking another to bring the other sick kids their meals, which they were supposed to have received _before_ the others ate but didn't. After lunch things were fine…until dinner that is. At dinner a girl fainted in the kitchen causing all the others to panic and then when I went to get the kid and put her in the living room until we had dinner prepared, I came back to find the pot of stew boiling over and burnt (I didn't even _know_ stew could get burned until today) and the garlic bread had started a small fire which smoked and alerted the fire alarms. That in turn only caused the already panicky children to panic even more. I put out the fire but then we had to start dinner _all over again_, resulting in dinner being delayed an hour. After we finished eating I then had to make sure all the sick children showered, as per order from Miss Jean. With that done I had to bathe the _other_ children, which proved to be very difficult when a few _absolutely refused_ to even step foot within a hundred foot of the shower room. When I'd finally persuaded all of them to take a shower I then had the _'wonderful'_ task of trying to get them all to go to sleep.

Ugh! It tires me out all over again just thinking about how the day went. I look down on the math problems in front of me. This was useless! I dropped my head heavily onto desk and close my eyes. What was I doing here anyway? What had I thought I would achieve? I was doing nothing and heaven knows what's was happening to Chrono right now.

Oh, yeah. Chrono. That was one of the things I wanted to achieve. I'd wanted to resolve my _feelings_ for him, if you could call them that; even I don't know what's happening to me. Chrono. Just the thought of him suddenly made my heart flutter and beat just a bit quicker. Why was that? And why was it that I was so worried about him, too? I cracked my eyes open and stared sidelong at the math paper I'd printed out. Didn't you only worry when it was somebody you love? Quiet nervous laughter escaped my mouth. But…but surely I-I didn't l-love him…? He-he didn't know me and I—I didn't want to admit—I didn't know him…at least, not _that_ well. We didn't-didn't even _trust_ each other. That was what l-love was supposedly all about, wasn't it? I blush.

A little voice at the back of my head whispered quietly after all the other thoughts. It whispered calmly, 'But you should know better. Denying the truth won't make it any less true.'

But what was I supposed to do anyway? So…I stared at the blank piece of paper...I still don't know what to do. 'I still haven't figured my 'feelings' for him.' I think bitterly, 'But what good would _that_ do.' What I really needed to solve was what to do _about_ those feelings. And Joshua; I needed to resolve that, too.

I stared at my math. Oh! To hell with this! I stood, picking up the paper, I scrunched it together and threw it back on the desk. To hell with this! I can't figure anything out! I can't help anyone! I can't _do_ anything! No friggen' wonder I was such a burden to Joshua! To Chrono! To EVERYONE!!!

I crumpled into a heap on the ground and curled into myself. I was so weak. Scratch that—I_ am still too weak_ Too weak to do anything! To help anyone! I can't cry anymore. I stand up and walk back to my abandoned desk, I sit down and flatten the crumpled ball of paper. Time to concentrate on the math…just because I can't figure out the problems in my head, that doesn't give me an excuse to not do the problems in front of me.

At least these math problems are easier to understand than the problems in my head.

…..

I roll over. Again. I close my eyes. Sleep won't come, why hasn't it come yet? I roll over, back onto the other side, and close my eyes. Still, I can't sleep.

"Arg!" this is getting aggravating. Why can't I sleep? I shoot up in the bed and rub my eyes.

I attentively put my foot over where I think the edge of the bed is…but my foot meets more blankets. I laugh at myself. I'd forgotten how big this bed was, I still so used to waking up in a tiny bed. Speaking of which…I blush remembering the morning I'd left the school.

I'd woken up when Chrono yelled my name, wondering what was going on…_ I got up, slowly, onto my knees, wondering what was going on. I rubbed my eyes tiredly, why was Chrono waking me up so early? _

_"Hmm…Chrono?" I asked__ as__ I lifted my eyes sleepily to look at him, still rubbing at one with my hand. God, it was so h__ard to get up in the morning, especially when I had been sleeping so comfortingly on my nice, warm be—OH MY GOD! I could feel my eyes widen as I looked a__round. I was in the same bed as Chrono!__ What the hell!?_

_Chrono was so close I could feel his breath on his face as he pressed back against the foot of the bed, leaning on his hand__s__. Why was he pushing himself way over there?...then I looked down and my face heated into a burning blush. I was sitting on him, STRADDALING his waist! _

_I clambered towards the edge of the bed, my face still burning, intending on getting away. __I was so intent I didn't notice the sheets my feet had tangled themselves in. And before I knew it, the floor was laid out in front of my eyes, welcoming me to kiss the wood. _

_Abruptly I stopped and the floor retreated from view. I'd just noticed that there are arms wrapped around my abdomen. And whose arms are those? I was scared to think of __who __it was because, of course, it could only be one person. He totters slightly and then my__ cheek meets a nice warm chest. Apparently, the one I'd slept on all night. _

_I tilted my head up; of course it was none other than Chrono staring back down at me. My face flushing redder than I thought possible I managed to mumble, "U__h-um…Chrono…you can let go now." Strangely I didn't really want him to let me go…I wanted to stay in his arms__, it's so warm there_

_Blushing even redder than before at that thought I scooted to the other end of the bed and turned away as he released me from his hold. _

I trembled. Oh my god…I…I…I know why I was so angry later that day. Why I was angry every time he hid something from me, every time he lied to me to cover something up. And it wasn't him I was mad at when he hurt himself…it was me I was mad at. Mad that…I couldn't help him. Mad that I couldn't…protect him. I opened the window. It was chilly outside, it is November after all, but it felt wonderfully refreshing to me. I lay down on the window seat, looking at the crescent moon. Was Chrono or Joshua looking at this same moon right now? I wonder.

_–flashback cont.—_

_Chrono was sick yesterday! I totally forgot that! How could I forget that! _THAT'S _the reason Chrono's in my bed! I rushed hurriedly back to the other end of the bed. I stretch my hand towards him, intending to feel his forehead and see if he's still got a fever…but he shrinks away from my hand. Why? I__grimace. I won't hurt him. Is he scared of me? So instead of moving closer to him I murmur, "Chrono, come here__." _

_He moves cautiously slow towards me with a neutral face. Finally a mere foot away from me he stops. I extend my hand for his forehead again, hoping that this time he won't shy away. He doesn't. I rest my palm on his brow for a minute; my frown intensifying as I felt his temple was still as heated as the day before. _

_"What's wrong, Rozet-a?" my violet haired roommate asked. _

_Well, of course, his burning fever. What else? "You should stay home from school today, Chrono. You're still burning up." I say, puzzled as to why he still hasn't noticed the temperature. _

_He is such a horrible liar.__ "I feel fine." He insists. This lie would've been more convincing if his teeth didn't start chattering and he didn't wrap his arms around himself as beads of sweat formed and dripped from his forehead. I can see as Chrono shuts his eyes tightly and curls up into a __compact __ball_

_"See." I say, softly but firmly__ I hope, "You still have a high fever. I'll tell the teachers that you won't be in class today." I get up and tuck the blankets around him snuggly, saying, "But, I have to go now, Chrono. I'll get you some food." I'm reluctant to go to classes today, but…he doesn't seem too sick, and now that he's conscious he probably wouldn't want me hovering around like a helicopter. _

_He'd be embarrassed_

_So I get ready for the day. I change into the school uniform (not in the room, of course), comb and tie my hair up, then I stuff my backpack with the things for today (notes, folders, binders, textbooks, ect.). _

_Uncertain if I should really leave the shy, quiet, amethyst haired boy alone I walk back to my bed, where he's still laying, and place my hand on his brow once again. If not the same as before, it seems hotter. I turn to the side, away from him. I really don't want to leave him like this. __I don't want to leave him when it seems that he needs someone to care for him so much. I want to take care of him, make sure he's okay. _

_With that decided I head towards the door, I'__ll just use the pay__phone in the hallway to call the attendance office, that phone has a speed dial number on it. And I don't remember the office number anyway. I'll just say we're both sick, so I can stay with Chr—I feel a gentle tug on one of the shirttails of my uniform. Surprised__ I turn around, what's even more surprising __is __what I find when I turn around. _

_Chrono has grasped weakly onto the ends of my shi__rttails and he's…he's whimpering!__ That's the only way I can describe the sound he's making. __I'm so startled by that that I don't move at all from my position for at least five minutes. Abruptly he stops whimpering and let's go of my uniform, turning away to face the wall and curling back into a protective ball. He mutters something along the lines of sorry. My face saddens, he wants me here right? That's why he'd grabbed onto my shirttails, right? I hope I made the right decision. _

_This will be quick, I head towards the door. I open the door and close it softly behind me, then I __hurry towards the payphone . I slip the coin in and press the number two. _

_"Hello?__ This is the Magdalene Boys Catholic __High __School attendance office. How may I help you?" the lady on the other end asks. _

_"Uh, yes. I'm Christopher Rozet, and uh," I fake a cough then sniffle, "I'm calling in 'cause—" I sniffle loudly, "uh-Chrono Daemon and I are sick so we won't be able to make it to school today." I cough again for emphasis. _

_"Oh, okay. Are you going to be alright?" she asks. _

_"Yeah," I sniffle again, "yeah, we're okay, just a minor bug." I cough, then say, "Thank you. Bye." _

_"Bye. Hope you're feeling bett__er." The lady says then hangs up.__ I hang up the payphone__ too. Now that THAT'S done with I have to get back. I start hurrying towards my room. Even though I left for such a short amount of time I'm __still worried. _

_I open the door quietly, so as not to wake Chrono if he's sleeping, and close it softly behind me as I tread towards my bed. _

_Chrono is still lying on his side, his bangs covering his forehead and eyes, but I could see, what I hoped to be, sweat running down his face. Chrono's (my) pajamas were already getting a little damp. He was whimpering again, probably unintentionally._

_I reached my hand down __to__I brush his clumped together bangs out of his face then __stroke his __moist cheeks. I could feel as his body stiffened under my touch, he jerked away and I let my hands fall back to my sides. I head towards the sink with a washing towel and run it under the water then wring it out. I walk back towards the bed. _

_This time I _know_ that he'__s crying, it's not sweat. He's trembling and shivering terribly, and he's whimpering again. He moves his hand to wipe at his face, but I stop his advance as I w__ipe the cool wet clothe against his brow. "Shh…" I whisper soothingly, he's still turned away, "Chrono…Shh…don't cry, I'm here." I hope that makes him feel better. _

_Suddenly he turns around, his eyes growing wide as they look at me. Did he really think I would leave him? "What? Did you really think I would leave you here when you were this sick?" I ask. _

_I'm hurt when he gives an unsure nod, it's sill a nod, he still thought I would really leave. "You really did, huh?" I say. Unexpectedly, Chrono suddenly throws his arms around me__ and starts crying softly into my neck__. To be honest, I __was a bit shocked for a minute or so, then I wrapped my arms around his back and held him to me. _

_I shifted onto the bed and lay down next to him, holding him close as his body continued to shiver. He still clung tightly around my neck, and he didn't seem to have any intention of letting go any time soon so I pulled the blanket up over him. I watched as he fell asleep, his breath evening out, and his tears stopped. He didn't shiver so much anymore either, hopefully this meant he was getting better._

_His vice grip finally loosened and I looked at the clock. It read 12:00 pm. Wow. __The whole morning had passed away. And Chrono didn't even eat any breakfast. My stomach growled, neither had I. I should get us lunch at least. I get up and start for the door, looking back again at the slumbering Chrono. I stepped out into the hallway. As I __hurried__ down the stairs I saw the popular student Aion Rennis coming up. Wonder why? __He waved to me;__ I ignored hi__m__ and continued down the stairs at breakneck speed. I don't know why but I had a bad feeling…__I'd come back really quick. _

_That was not possible. I stared at the long line ahead. I was in the cafeteria and had decided that I'd just grab something from here…but seeing the impossibly long line made me decide otherwise. _

_There was a little grocery/convenience __store __around here somewhere. I headed out the door and towards the school gates; they should be open. And __they were. I stepped out and towards the store which was one block away. I started running, for some reason I was uneasy leaving Chrono alone. _

_I looked at the can of microwaveable soup in my hand. Since I'm here I might as well get the other stuff, right? I quickly stuffed a basket with what I thought a sick person might need to get well along with some other things. Bread, soup, crackers, instant ramen, milk,__ orange juice,__ect__. We have a microwave in our room, along with a mini fridge._

_I walked out of the store with five bags; three in one hand, two in the other. There was NO WAY I was going to be able to run__ like this__ So I speed walked, I had this nagging feeling that I had to hurry. That something was seriously amiss. _

_I looked at the lounge clock as I entered the dorm building. 12: 15. Had I really been gone that long? As I'm about to open the door that leads to our hall the door is opened and I step back quickly, hoping to not drop the groceries. It's Aion Rennis. He walks past me, just bumping my shoulder, he turns around, "Oh, sorry." He turns back around and starts down the stairs. I stare after him. He's _smirking

_I opened the door that lead to the fourth floor hallway and rushed inside before the door could catch on me. _

_I walked slowly towards my room, thinking over my encounter with Aion. Nothing really seemed _that_ strange, yet it seemed as if I wasn't getting something. I wracked my brain, trying to see if I'd forgotten something. I hadn't. _

_I unlock the door and slip inside the dorm room. I start towards the bed and see that Chrono isn't lying in my bed but standing in the middle of __the __room, starting towards it, too. I rush towards him as he starts to wobble a little. I'm right behind him when he starts falling forward. It's not like Chrono to be so clumsy, must be because he's ill. I grab the afore-mentioned boy around the waist securely to keep him from personally meeting __with __the floor._

_"Whoops. Wouldn'__t want to fall, now would you." I say. Chrono nods then blushes a red to rival his crimson eyes. He extends his right hand and that's when I see them. The bandages. _

After that the day had gone downhill.

"I was—am—so in love with Chrono." I sigh defeated. Oh—I put a hand up to clamp my mouth shut. I didn't just say that! I look outside at the moon. Nope. There's no proof that states I said that.

The quiet voice at the back of my head if now screaming erratically at my temples, 'ARGH! You already said it! There's no use denying it! DENYING THE TRUTH WON'T MAKE IT ANY LESS TRUE! How many times do I have to say that! And even if there's no PROOF that you said it, YOU still know that you said it! Stop doing this! Stop denying what's right in front of your eyes and accept! If you accept something then you can take the next step! So, stop doing this! You're hurting me! And _I'M YOU!'_

I opened the window a bit wider and stuck my head out as far as I could. I think I'm seriously going crazy now.

'You love him! You love Chrono!' the voice was still shouting and it was very hard to ignore so I answered, 'I know that!' I yelled back, "I know! I love Chrono! I get it! I've known for a long time now, so _SHUT UP_! Because…I know I can never have him anyway! Okay! Now go away!"

"C-Christopher? Ar-are you okay?" I turned my head swiftly to the open door that I had not noticed. "Ally?" I asked, she nodded.

"Uh-what's wrong?" I asked, sheepishly blushing.

"Um," she sounded curious, not good, "who do you love, Christopher…and why can't you have her?"

I smacked my face with my hand, "Please tell me I had not yelled those last words out loud."

Ally laughed a little, "Actually, you did. You said you loved Chrono. Is she a pretty lady? Why can't you have her? _I_ love you. I'm sure she'd love you, too? So why can't you have her?" she asked, bombarding me with questions.

Oh, God, thank you. At least she hadn't heard me say 'him'.

"And uh-Mr. Christopher," oh, no, they were only formal when they were going to ask something—, "did you say it was a 'him'? Is that why you can't have him?" she asked, carefully using the new verb. I put both hands up to hide my blushing red face. Oh, god. Oh, god. Oh, god. Scratch that, she _had_ hear me clearly—too clearly, if you ask me. What was I going to tell her? Of course there was bluntly lying. But then my conscience would have to pay. I don't think I can trust her with the truth either. She's only a kid after all. And I can't tell her a half truth, she wouldn't understand. Of course there's always just changing the subject.

Yep. That's the one, I'll just change the subject.

"So, why are you here?" I ask.

Ally frowns, "You're changing the subject." She says bluntly. Then more softly she says, "Um, Christopher, you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to…just tell me how she—he's like." I look at her, "Why do you want to know?" I ask.

"Because," the little brunette pouts, "I want to know why you can't have him. Only stupid people like Billy," she makes a face, "don't see how nice you are." I hug her, "Thanks." I say. She's such a sweet kid.

I close the door behind her and walk back towards the window seat, Ally first heads to my bed, grabbing a thick sheet, then ambles over and sits next to me on the large window seat.

"So," I start, "Uh, let's see. Well, Chrono…Chrono is just a very sweet, kind, strong person. The person I wish I could be like. He's nice and helped me with my homework," I'm not going to mention that we lived in the same room, "um—what else…well, Chrono. Chrono is the type of person who is self-sacrificing…so much so that sometimes I want to beat him up because of it." I can hear Ally laughing beside me; I continue to stare at the crescent moon that is hanging precariously in the clear star studded sky, "He—he's the type of person who takes it upon himself to blame himself. To say that it was his fault, when most of the time it's not."

"Um…" I continue on my list, "He is sweet tempered and hardly gets mad. It's so annoying sometimes that he won't get mad at me for doing some thing. Chrono is also fiercely protective of his loved ones. But he won't stand up for himself. His face is so beautiful and he has long hair. His eyelashes. They're so long that when he closes his eyes they make a shadow under his eyes. But he hates it when he gets mistaken for a girl because he's only as tall as me and has long hair." Ally is laughing again, I stare at the deep black that cloaks the sky, it's intriguing, "Um. He'll be your shoulder to cry on when you're sad. And the first person you would share good news with when you're happy." I looked down, "But he doesn't show his feelings. He's a hypocrite. He'll tell you it's okay to cry when you're sad, but when he's sad he won't let you see his tears.

"And…even if he's sad, if you're happy he'll smile. He's so strong. And…I'm so weak." I finish quietly, "And…I love him."

Ally smiles, "I want to meet Chrono!" she says, "He sounds cool, like you, and I'm going to beat him up, too, if he doesn't like you." She's wearing a gap-toothed grin.

I can't help but smile back, "Yeah? I'll bring him here sometime then. But I'm not sure you can beat him, he's much bigger than you." I laugh.

Ally pouts and argues back, "Nah-uh. I can totally beat him! You just bring him and see!"

"Yeah. Okay."

"Promise?" she sticks out her pinky finger, the childish promise that can't be broken.

"Of, course." We lock pinkies and she grins up cheekily.

"You love him?" she asks then opens her mouth and let's loose a big yawn.

I yawn, too, then say, "Yeah, no use denying it to you, huh. I'm in love with him."

"Will you still love us then?" she asks, I hear a note of sadness in her voice. I turn to look at her, her face is downturned, "Of course. I like all of you…well, maybe not Billy." She looks back up and smiles then laughs.

"You promise, right? You'll still love us even when you have Chrono?"

I stick out my pinky finger, "Of course I promise. Even if I _don't_ have Chrono, I'll still love you guys." I say. She sticks out her pinky and we lock them once again. Ally yawns, "Tell me more about Chrono, Christopher." She says, lying her head down in my lap.

"Yeah, sure; but why'd you come here in the first place?" I question.

"Hmm? That?" she looks blearily up at me, "Oh, I couldn't sleep." She yawns, hands reaching up over her head.

"So, Chrono…" I begin. I've surprised myself again, when did I learn so much about Chrono?

**--END CHAPTER THIRTEEN--**

**A/N: Okay, that wasn't too bad, was it? Oh, you know something else, is it really that weird for me to have long hair? People keep saying I should get a hair cut...I kinda don't want to though, so I don't think I will. Anyways, REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! oh yeah, constructive critism is always welcome! **


	14. Chapter 14 Joshua: Part 1

**A/N: This chapter wasn't done so well but...I guess this is what you'll get. Hahah really, sorry, I couldn't do any better but I hope you still like it...at least somewhat. Enjoy! (or not, it's up to you.)**

**p.s. here's a helpful key:**

**... means a short span of time differance (a few hours, etc.)**

**OoOoO means a longer span of time (a week, month, etc.)**

* * *

**Chapter 14**

(Chrono's POV)

I hurried down the hall, towards the door that the sign 'infirmary' hung over.

It was morning and I was here because I couldn't get here yesterday. This was a good thing, too, because this way I wouldn't have to face Father Reming—

"Oh, hi, Chrono, what are you doing here so early?" I stopped short. Why was _he_ here?

"Uh-uh, hey Father Remington." I said nervously. Scratch that idea; come early or late Remington was still here, what the heck was he doing here? Shouldn't he be getting ready for classes or something along those lines?

"So," Remington says, "Why are you here?"

I blush and laugh uneasily, "Uh, well-well, you see I, uh," I stumbled over my words, "I kind of...uh," I kind of what? I wracked my head for an excuse, I had plenty of bruises I could use as excuses…but not without giving away the whole ton of other bruises, "Uh, well, I kind of uh-hurt my hand a little." I finally manage, "And I was um, hoping I could get it bandaged?" I say with uncertainty.

To my surprise Father Remington bursts into laughter, "Is that all?" he says, he wipes at his eyes, "I was worried you had broken your jaw or something."

I smile nervously, the violence wasn't that bad yet but it was getting there. "Well, uh, yeah. So-um-could you bandage my hand?" he nods and gestures for me to sit at one of the patient beds. He gets a roll of bandage out and I extend my right hand for him to examine.

I flinch a little as he reaches for my hand, but I quickly cover it up by asking. "So, why are you here?"

He doesn't seem to have noticed as he looks up for a moment from my hand then says softly, "I work here till second period in the mornings and late at night…which seems to be the times you come in here, too." I swear I see a look of sadness cross his face before he says, "You know, Chrono…you can come talk to me any time, right?" why would I want to do that? But I nod my head anyway.

"If-if you feel sad or anything just come talk to me about it, okay?" I incline my head slightly in a nod, getting more and more confused by the minute

"You won't do anything…stupid? You know better than that, right?" he whispers. I stop mid-nod, what's he getting at? I look down at him and see that he's looking up into my face, his face cheerless.

"What?" I whisper. Suddenly he's smiling again, "It's nothing. Don't do anything dumb, okay?" I nod, "Okay. Do you want some water?" I nod again and he gets up. As soon as his footfalls disappear I reach for the rack with the bandages, pulling out ten rolls. I hope nobody notices. I hear his footsteps in the near distance and zip up my backpack quickly, then fall back onto the bed.

"Chrono?" Father Remington says from beside the curtain separator. I immediately jolt up into a sitting position.

"Uh, yeah?"

"Here." he says, handing the paper cup of water to me. I take it, thanking him. Then I get up and walk towards the door.

"Chrono Daemon," I hear Father Remington say from behind me, I stop short, "Don't hurt yourself, okay? I'm here if you need someone to talk to."

I continue on like I didn't hear him. Did he just say that? More importantly _why_ had he said that?

I hurry towards first period.

…..

_DING _

_DING_

_DING_

_DING_

I walk as quickly as I can out of math class. What was wrong with Father Remington? He kept looking at me sadly, like when he looked at me he saw someone else. It was just plain weird.

….

_DING _

_DING _

_DING _

_DING_

_DING_

"You. You're coming tonight." Genai whispers as I step out of my seventh period. I knew it, the '_kindness'_ wasn't something that would last. I held in the sigh until Genai was past me and down the hall. Then I heaved in a breath. 'What was happening to me?' I asked myself not for the first time since I met Rosette. I did—but didn't—understand why I was going through so much for him. I now understood that the love I held for him wasn't normal, nor would it be excepted because this was a catholic school. But I also understood that the love I had for Rosette would always be one-sided on my part and we could be nothing but best friends.

Best friends. I still wanted more. I didn't want to be the one he came to about girls that he dumped or dumped him. I wanted most of all...for him to be the girl. That would solve almost everything. Almost.

I heaved in another sigh. I feel so lonely now that Rosette's gone. I look up and around at my settings. Even with as many students as before passing me by, I feel so much lonelier now…now than before I met Rosette. I almost wish I hadn't met him. If I hadn't I wouldn't know what I was missing out on and so I wouldn't have missed it. But…I'm so grateful I _did_ meet him. He showed me that even if you're going to get hurt once in a while, you have to open your heart because once in a while you'll find someone that will heal all the pain you've got.

That's what Rosette did for me. I realized as I walked out of the school building. Rosette healed a part of me I didn't even know was hurt. The part of me that was hurt when my mother died…when nobody was willing to take me in…when I was sent away…and…I'm so lucky to have met Rosette.

I knock on the door. It's opened, I'm pulled inside and the beating start; same as every day. But it's okay, I smile slightly, because if I have to endure a little physical pain so Rosette won't have to…it's okay because I _know_ I'll see him again. Hopefully soon.

….

I wrapped the bandages around my wrist and torso. Aion cut me again with his little pocket knife. On the wrist. Again.

I sighed and looked across the room to the other bed. I can't help but notice how quiet it is in here now…too quiet. But I know it has always been this quiet, I'd had this room by myself since I started school here. It was just the appearance—and disappearance—of Rosette that made it seem so much quieter now...so much lonelier here.

I looked out the window and into the courtyard below. I saw bob of blonde hair and stood up, quickly rushing to look out the window. When I saw it wasn't who I thought it was I deflated onto the ground. Why was I acting this way? I'm acting like a…a…a lovesick puppy! That's the only thing I can think of that sounds even remotely close to how I think I'm acting.

Wait. I stand up quickly again. There was someone with light hair behind that blob of blonde, _long_ _light coloured hair_. I look out the window and scan the court below. There it is, the head of blonde hair…and beside him…I squint to see as the two people turn this way and bend over with laughter…Azmaria!

I'm about to start out the door when I see them walk into the door of my dorm building. She's coming in here then. I sigh. What else did I think she'd come here for? I knock myself on the head and walk over to dresser to pull on a long sleeved shirt. I pull it over my head and able over to sit on my bed to wait for her.

—A few hours before—

(Azmaria POV)

I walk through the gates and look around at the grounds. I recall the advice Christopher had given me when he'd helped me and blush—_'You look __pretty innocent, but don't you know that a lot of boys at boys' only schools are horny.'—_ I think it's best if I head towards the office first, don't want a repeat of what happened here last I came.

I tell the lady in the office that I want to see Chrono and ask if she could please tell me where Chrono's room is. I don't remember exactly which room his is. She smiles kindly up at me and I can't help but smile back. She types in her computer and asks again what his name is. "Chrono. Chrono Daemon." I repeat. She types quickly and then scribbles something on a piece of paper, handing the paper to me. I smile and thank her then walk out the doors towards the building I remember. Building A.

I've finally just got Father and Mother to let me move in here. Here being a boarding school a ways down the street from this school. I think back to the first time I'd met Chrono. He'd been ten and I was just eight. This was the first time I'd seen my cousin. I'd grown up as a spoiled brat, getting whatever I wanted…except the acceptance of other people…

_—Flashback—_

_"Azmaria," my father started as he poked his head through my door, "please get dressed and get ready to meet your cousin." I looked up from the music scrolls I'd been reading since__ early__ this morning. I loved singing and playing the piano…but Father and Mother didn't like this particular hobby of mine. I'm supposed to take over the company, it's been drilled into me since I was old enough to understand. For me people always had high expectations and I could never seem to meet these expectations. _

_I walked over to the door and shut it as maid cam__e__ up and said, "Miss, __we are to get you changed." So much for my idea of getting dressed by myself. I open the door back up and the maid comes in with two others right behind her. I hold in a sigh because I know it's impolite to do so. _

_…_

_I stand in a frilly white skirt and blouse at the bottom of the staircase. I hear the door at the end of the hallway open and look up from trying to tug at the blouse. There are a pair of footsteps, one that's hurried and another that's slower and more hesitant. "__Quickly__!" I hear from down the halls._

_There are shuffled footsteps and then there is a man in a black suit in front of us. Behind him a boy is slightly hidden, by both him and the shadows of this hall. I wish Father and Mother wouldn't have closed the shades in this hall, I hate that it's so dark._

_I hear the man in the black suit and Father talking quietly to each other and glancing at the boy the man in the black suit had brought in. Suddenly Father says, "Come here, boy."__ I have not been told my cousins' name, I didn't even know I had a cousin until recently. I'd always heard whispers that Father had a sister but I never knew if it was true. _

_The boy steps up out of the shadow and into the artificial light that glows from the chandelier above us. I can't help but stare at him, he looks so…exotic. I want to step up __and tug at his long, dark _purple_ hair that hangs in a low ponytail and see if it's real. Then I notice his eyes. They're a funny colour; red in color, like mine, but unlike mine, they're what I'd call a deep scarlet. His complexion is darker than mine, but not that much darker._

_He inclines his head slightly in respect and mumbles quietly so that only I, being the closest to him, had heard him. _

_"Speak up, boy." Father orders sternly. The boy looks up sharply then immediately looks back down, "Thank you for taking me in, sir. I'm Chrono Daemon." _

_My father doesn't smile as I look up to see his expression, he's frowning. "Well," he says, "I'm Ricardo Hendric…" he pauses then says, "And this is my wife, Elizabeth, and my daughter, Azmaria." Then he nods towards the man in the black suit and the man leaves. _

_"Go back to your room, Azmaria." My father__ says as he turns to go back to his home office. I hesitate, I kind of wanted to talk to my cousin more. But I'm escorted of the hall by a maid as I see another maid lead the older boy up the stairs after us then in the other direction. _

_…_

_I sneak out of the room and head towards the kitchen. I'm supposed to be finishing a lesson but the teacher has gone to the bathroom and I want a cookie. _

_I start to push the chair towards the shelf where the jar of cookies rest. I wince because I can hear the loud squeaking noise the chair makes as it's pushed. I hope no one hears, or if anyone hears that they won't come to investigate. I just want one cookie, after all, and it's afternoon and I haven't eaten anything since the light brunch this morning. I bend my head and push my shoulder against the chair as hard as I can._

_Suddenly two cookies are held in front of my face and, startled, I stumble back and fall on my butt. __I look up as I hear a panicked, "Are you okay?" I look up at the unfamiliar voice. It's Chrono. He holds out a hand but I smack it away saying, "__Humph__. I didn't need your help. I could've gotten it on my own." I know I sound mean, but he's going to expect me to act this way so it doesn't matter. _

_"Oh. Okay." The hand with the cookies is still extended to me. What am I supposed to do? Take it? Leave it? Or smack that hand away, too? _

_"Take it." he says. Startled, I take it and look up at him. Even though I'd acted that way I can see in his eyes that he doesn't think unkindly of me. I want to know why. Why doesn't he despise me? Why doesn't he hate me because I'm not the perfect person I'm made out to be? _

_"It's okay." He says. Suddenly the door is slammed behind us. I turn quickly to see who it is. It's the teacher that had to go 'freshen up.' _

_"What are you doing, young man?" she asks snottily, "And, Miss Hendric, do you care to explain why you have cookies in your hands? You do know that dinner will be soon…and you wouldn't want to __spoil your dinner now would you?" _

_I shake my head but my head snaps up as I hear Chrono say, "It's my fault. I gave her the cookies." I look from Chrono to the teacher who looks annoyed at him. I'm about to open my mouth when the teacher says, "Please put those cookies back, Miss Azmaria." _

_I look down sadly at my cookies and miss the look on Chrono's face. As I turn my head up and start towards the cookie jar Chrono stops me, saying, "She's just a kid, Miss, let her act like one for once." I turn to look at him as the teacher gapes at us. "She's only six years old, if you haven't noticed." He says. I blush, I'm EIGHT not SIX. _

_The teacher harrumphs and then says, "She's also the heir to Mr. Ricardo Hendric's company, if I was informed correctly, and it's my job to make sure that she learns her academics." _

_"Her _academics._" He says, "And before she is the heir she is a child." I hear him ground out the words, "So you should let her act like she__ is__ one__ for once." The teacher glares at him then walks towards me and__ takes__ the cookies from my hands. She puts them back in the jar and __grabs__ one of my hands as I hear my stomach growl. Dinner is not for another THREE hours. I subside a sigh. _

_Before I'm out the door I feel Chrono take my hand __and slip something in my palm before __let__ting__ go. I stop and look, there are two cookies wrapped in a napkin in my palms. How he got them so quick I'll never know. I turn back to see him slightly smiling at me. I look at my hand again, to make sure my eyes hadn't deceived and that there were indeed two cookies in my hands, then I glance back at my cousin. He smiles and nods his head. I don't understand. Why is he being like this? Why is he being so kind to me when I acted all snotty and mean to him? Why didn't he just let me get yelled at? And…why d__id he stand up for me like that? I don't understand._

_OoOoO_

_Mother and Father have gone __away __on business. The only ones home are some of the live-in maids, teachers, and servants or other, and Chrono and myself. I tumble around on the bed. I can't fall asleep, I want a glass of water but I'm afraid of the dark. Father would be disappointed in me. He thinks I shouldn't fear something so 'trivial' as the darkness. But I am, I can't help it. _

_I get up and run quickly to the room next to my own, I have a bodyguard that lives in there; surely he'll go downstairs with me. __I knock on the door and try to hold in a whimper as I look at a shadow that seems to crawl towards me, wanting to take me away into the shadows with it._

_I move from foot to foot as I wait. I hear the heavy thumps and the growls the bodyguard makes as he walks towards the door. "What!?" he growls out as he slams the door open, "What do you want so late!?" _

_I cower a little away from him, too, but then manage to squeak out, "C-can you go d-downstairs with me? I-I want a cup of water." He growls irritated, but he walks out anyway. He grabs my wrist harshly and starts dragging me down the hall and towards the stairs. _

_When I'm down stairs I push a chair up to the shelf where the cups are as the bodyguard waits irritabl__y at the door for me to finish. I grab the glass cup and tiptoe over the side of the sink, trying to reach the faucet. It's just out of reach, I turn to look at the man in the doorway helplessly. He doesn't move, only says, "Hurry up, girl, or I'll leave you down here." _

_Scared to be left alone in the dark I reach for the handle and flick it with the tips of my fingers, repeating the motion again so the handle will go up and release the water into my cup. When my cup is filled almost to the top I hurry towards him…stumbling over my long nightgown and tripping. _

_I fall down and look up quickly to see the glass go flying and splatter water all over the bodyguard then drop with a crash to the hard wood floor that I lay on, there was still enough water in the cup that it created a tiny little puddle around the broken glass. _

_"You little snot-nosed brat!" he yelled as he rushed at me. __He grabbed the front of my shirt and easily lifted me up off my feet. I looked, scared, down at the ground that seemed to be too far away. "I-I'm s-s-sorry. I-I didn't mean t-to." I stuttered out._

_I looked up and am met with a sound backhanded slap to my cheek. I can hear as I give a start of pain. The man drops me and I can see his foot rearing back, about to kick me. Suddenly my vision is blocked as I'm covered by a warm body and I hear a cry of pain…except it's not from me. I peek up from my position and see Chrono's face. He's curled himself around me. Why? He smiles reassuringly at me. _

_The bodyguard looks down with surprise as Chrono helps me to my feet."Are you alright, Azmaria?" He asks, as he looks at the red handprint on my cheek his brows furrow and he looks much older than his rightful age. He turns around. "What did you hit her for?" He says in a low voice to the bodyguard. I cower behind him as I see the bodyguard look glare at me. _

_"It's none of your problem, kid. She fucking dumped water on__ me, the little bitch__!" he yells as he continues to glare at me. Chrono turns to look at me then at the broken glass before him and finally back to the face of the glaring bodyguard. "She _accidentally spilled_ water on you, sir."__ He says flatly. _

_The scary man makes a 'humph' sound, looks at me behind Chrono, and says, "I'm going back to bed, you little bitch. If it wasn't for you…" he trails off as he heads down the dark hallway. _

_Chrono turns around and smiles at me again, asking, "Are you okay, Azmaria?" I nod but rub my cheek and say quietly, "It's hot." He nods and sits me down in a chair. He walks to the fridge, grabbing a towel along the way, and walks back with something wrapped in it. He holds up the towel to my cheek. "Better?" I nod as I continue to look at the floor. _

_He goes to the shelf where the cups are and brings one out, filling it with water he hands it to me, "Here. This is what you came down to get, isn't it?" I nod again and watch as he crouches in front of the pile of broken glass. He slowly picks the glass up and __puts it in one hand. _

_I don't know why, I start sniffling as tears run down my face. What's the matter with me? I'm supposed to be the strong heir to my mother and fathers' company. My shoulders shake as the sobs wrack through my body. I'm so tired of trying to be perfect. I'm so tired of everyone trying to make me into the person they think I should be…I don't even know who I am anymore. _

_I feel a hand on my head. I look up at Chrono with waterlogged eyes. He looks down at my own and says, as if reading my thoughts, "Shh…you're just a child. Don't try to grow up too fast…because before you know it, you'll be grown up and you'll know who you want to be and how you want __to influence the world. Okay?" I nod, and before I even know what I'm doing I've grabbed him around the waist and buried my head against his shoulder, crying my heart out. Crying out all those tears that others wouldn't accept from me. Crying out the tears of pain that no one wanted see. He patted my shoulder and smoothed my hair down. _

_OoOoO_

_"Chrono…" he looked up at me from his homework. "…Why don't you hate me?" I ask._

_He looks taken aback then recovers and says, "Azmaria, why should I hate you?" _

_"Because," I say, "Because I can't be the perfect person…because I'm not what Father and Mother wanted…because I'm not a boy…because I'm not good enough." I finish. I really didn't understand why he didn't hate me. _

_"Az," he says using the nickname he's given me, "one, NOBODY is perfect; two, your father and mother LOVE you to bits; three, you wouldn't be YOU if you were a boy; and four, you're always good enough…you're better than good enough. People…people are just jealous of you…of what you have that they want. __They just envy you." He says as he gets up and pats me on the head. "And last of all," he says, "I don't hate you. I could never hate you, Azmaria."_

_I give him a genuine smile. That's what he says whenever I ask him. I don't know why I have to ask him so often, maybe for reassura__nce that I'm not burdening him with my trivial problems. _

_We're in the library today. It's been a month since that night; the night the bodyguard had snapped and hit me. Chrono…Chrono's grown to be my confident…my __first real __friend. And I think he's the only one I'd ever trust with my life__ if I had to trust anyone with it__. And I want to think he thinks of me the same. He's my only true friend in this cage that I'm kept in and he says that if I want to influence people, if I want to help more people, I have to grow up as the heir of my parents' company. Then I could be good boss and do what I want with the company. So I'm doing that now. I'm studying hard but trying to laugh and be a child while I can. Chrono is usually the only person I can really laugh with, if I laugh in front of anyone else I'd either get a glare or a look that says 'you are crazy.' _

_—End Flashback—_

Little had I known that would be one of the last times I could ever ask him that. After that he disappeared. Literally. I didn't know what happened but I tried to find out and still keep his words close to my heart. My cousin. He was my first friend. And, at last, I've finally found him again.

"Hey! You! Girl!" I stopped and looked around. I'm the only girl around so whoever it is, is talking to me. I turn around and am met by a face so like Christophers' that I gasp a little at first before I notice that his hair is shorter and a shade lighter, and his eyes are also a lighter shade of blue than Christopher's.

This guy looks familiar. Oh. It's him. I turn and start quickly towards the dorm building. It's the guy that had showed up after Christopher beat up all the other guys. I don't know what he wants but I'm sure it's nothing good.

"Wait," he calls as he huffs up to me, "You-you know Rosette, right?" he puffs. I look at him quizzically and he says, "Christopher Rosette."

I look quizzically at him, "You mean: Christopher Rozet?" He nods, "Whatever." He says.

I nod. "So?"

"You know who Rosette is?" I nod my head again. "You're a close friend of Chrono's?" I nod uncertainly, I haven't seen him in years but I hope I'm still considered a close friend. "I need your help…but you must promise not to tell him what I tell you. Oh, and I'm Joshua, by the way."

I nod and say, "That depends on what you're going to say." He sighs and mumbles something that confuses me, "Just like my sister."

"Let's talk somewhere else…a café around the corner?" I nod and he tugs me towards the school gates. Well, I can postpone seeing Chrono a little bit if it's this important. I follow him out the gates.

**--END CHAPTER FOURTEEN--**

**A/N: Yeah...that wasn't so great but...yeah, it was kinda nessaseary (I don't think I spelled that right, but whatever). My friend thinks I'm bi, says I write my stories like a guy and write my authour notes like a girl (which is NOT true) and then says my hair proves it, too, since it's so friggen' long. Okay, now REVIEW! Constructive critisism is nice! NO FLAMES! (not that I get any XD)**


	15. Chapter 15 Joshua: Part 2

**A/N: Hey, here's a new chapter! Sorry it took so long to update but, as I said on my profile page thing, my laptop busted for a bit. Now it's fixed though, so yeah. Oh, and I didn't write who's POV this chapter is in, in the beggining but you guys'll figure it out sooner or later...Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed and/or put me on their faves. I appreciate it guys! 'kay, Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Don't remember the last time I put this up, but...I don't own. Daisuke Moriyama does.**

* * *

_--Four Years Before--_

_I was about to walk into the kitchen__ and get a cup of water__ when I heard voices: "—like, the sick boy?" a snotty female voice asked. "Yeah, __like, __whatever his name is—I think it__, like,__ started with a 'J'. Johnny, or Jacob or__ Jordan or__ something…" another snotty female voice answered. _

_"Yeah,__ like,__ so? What about the sickly __runt__? He's not, like, important. And—ugh—I do hate that we, like, HAVE to babysit him, like, every time he's sick! He's, like, always throwing up and, like, coughing and—ugh, it's, like, so atrocious!" the first voice said. I didn't need to guess who they were talking about. _

_"I know!" the second voice said, "But that's, like, not what I was, like, going to say__, Olive__. Anyways, you know that little blonde girl that, like, always hangs around the kid?__ His, like, so-called '_sister'?_" I __peek into the room to see the red head, Olive, nod. Gwen was sitting across from her, 'daintily' sipping whatever liquid was in the mug at their hands._

_"Yeah, like, that's the kid. I was, like, looking through the, like, the runt's files and I decided to, like, look at the girls' files, too—"_

_"So, like, Gwen, what's so _important_ abo__ut the stupid kid's files?!__ Spill__ it out already!" the other girl yelled, clearly the more impatient of the two. _

_"I'm getting there, I'm getting there. Now—listen to this__ Olive—they're not even real brothers and sisters!" I heard a gasp and ducked behind the __wall, just in case. "Nah__-uh, like, how is that, like, even possible?! They're, like, TWINS!" I wanted to snicker at that…but the words that Gwen had uttered…_

_"Yah, I, like, __know__ that already." Gwen said, sounding a little annoyed, "But, like, for real. They're not real brothers and sisters—they're only half!" __Half?__ We were only half? That couldn't be true! I leaned against the wall and listened as the two harpies continued. _

_"Like, how do you even, like, know for sure?" _

_"Listen, Olive, I, like, looked at the files and, like, found the, like, birth certificates—or whatever they're called. They both had the same mother but, like, their mother was a whore! That girl, the blonde one that hangs around the sick boy, she was born before the mother had married. The certificate says that, like, her real father is __THE__ David__Harvenheit__" _

_Another gasp, "Like, NO WAY!__ You mean the girl's dad is THE _DAVID HARVENHEIT_! …wait…Why are their names, like, Christopher, then?__" I could hear confusion in her voice. I was very much confused myself. What they said could not be possible, they were lying! They must be! _

_"Christopher?" I heard__ a snort, "Ha! That's, like, the sickly boys' dad, like, the__ name __of the man who she married: __Vins__ent__ Christopher! She was__, like,__ a total whore! Probably didn't even love the stupid runts!" I backed away from the door, they were lying: they must be, Mother wasn't like that. She was gone now, but when she was with us…she'd loved us! And she-she wasn't a whore! __How dare they talk about our dare mother like that! __I knew what a whore was and she was most definitely NOT one! How dear they call my mother that! I was about to step in the room and confront them when Gwen said: _

_"And that's not__, like,__ eve__n half of it: David __Harvenheit__, like, is like dead now but in his will he, like, gave the company to his daughters—and guess what?!" _

_"What?!" the red head exclaimed._

_"The girl is one of his daughters. His, like, other two daughters—you know, that Satella, who now owns all the big fashion lines and that…oh, what's her name…Florette, who owns all the big jewelry shops!—yeah them, they just found out __about their 'little sister' and are now looking for her!" another gasp. "I, like, know! Imagine all the money and publicity we could get, Olive!" _

_"OMG!__ We've __gotta__, like, call and tell them where she is!" _

_"Already done."__ The other girl stated smugly, and I'm wondering why such a stupid—not to mention, fake—__person like her can suddenly have such brain. "The only thing's the stupid runt. She'll never go if he's still here!"_

_"Really?__ Well, like, there's a family that recently came and, like, wanted to take him in. Maybe we could, like…" she trailed off as I ran out the door and into the woods—towards our little secret area by the lake. _

_I lay on my stomach on the giant rock that jutted out into the open waters and looked at my reflection. We looked alike! Blonde hair—though mine was lighter—and blue eyes—though, again, mine __was__ a lighter shade. And we had the same shape of face, not chubby but still holding onto some baby fat. We looked so much alike sometimes we were mistaken for twins! What those __two harpies said was a lie! It couldn't be true! It wasn't! I wasn't going to believe a word of their lies__not without proof, of course! _

_Proof! That's what I needed! I needed to find proof that what those two said was just a lie! I got up off the rock. Most__ of the kids weren't here today;__ they went with Ms. Jean to a nearby town to buy supplies__ for school__. I headed stealthily back towards the main house. _

_I peeked into the kitchen again. Good, the two witches weren't here anymore; they'd probably gone back up to their rooms to play dress up or do their fingernails or something of the like. I tiptoed towards the high pantry door that housed the crate of orphan__s'__ files. It swung open quietly—_

I never meant to hurt her. It was just that what they said hadn't been a lie but the truth. I looked down at the cup of brown tea in front of me, knowing that it was getting cold and that the girl across from me was getting a lot more than a little impatient waiting for me to talk. What those two harpies had said was true—even to the part where I knew I was the only one holding her back. I was the only link chaining Rosette to this orphanage and life.

_—I looked down at Rosette and my files, my hands trembling__ as a few droplets of salt-water dripped onto the paper and smeared the ink of mine and Rosette's birth certificates__. They hadn't been lying, everything was true. And I was the only reason she was still here in this place. __I was the only reason she hadn't been found yet. I was the only reason she was still living like this when she could be living better—not having to worry about my health or our future. She thinks I don't see her worrying over me, but the truth is: I do, and it hurts me to see her always worrying like that. _

_It's like I'm the one forcing her to grow up. I'm the r__eason she can't be a just a kid…_

"So, I decided I would leave…so that she might have an easier life; there were people who wanted me, too. And it wouldn't be like I was intruding on them if I went with them." I finally said, still looking down at the brown liquid, and noted the confused look on the face of the girl across from me.

I continued though, "I didn't mean to hurt her; I really didn't mean to, but…it was the only way I could think of that would make her leave." I paused, "I hate myself when I think of all the things she did for me and then the hurtful words I threw at her…"

I finally looked up. "…even though I didn't mean a thing I said…it still stung…You want to know what I'm talking about?" I asked. She nodded, her long pale hair swung gently around her.

"Four years ago Rosette and I got separated. I chose to go, though. But…before I left…I said some really hurtful things to her." she nodded and asked, "What did you say to him…and how did you know him four years ago?"

I laughed, she still thought Rosette was a guy—though I have to admit she did a pretty good job at acting; she should win an Oscar for this little charade. "Rosette's my sister and we were orphans." I stated simply then laughed again, this time bitterly. "Before I left to live with my adoptive parents I told her some pretty nasty stuff. And, I quote myself, I said 'no, you aren't my family, now I can I have real family. I can have a loving mother, a caring father, and a brother who can protect me now.'"

I laughed bitterly again as tears pricked at my eyes, I closed them. "And you wanna know what I said next." I didn't wait for her answer, "I said 'Rosette, grow up. You can't protect me, you're hardly older than me. We can't stay in the orphanage forever. And how do you plan to pay for my medicine in the future? You know the cost is rising and the payment for that cheap locket of yours won't be enough to pay for it. What are you going to do then? Sell your body to some old perverted man'" I laughed, again a bitter laugh. A laugh at myself. The reason I still remembered what I'd said was because I'd had to write it down on a piece of paper, rehearse it several times to myself, then say it to her looking her in the eye…and see how much hurt I had caused by saying those words.

There was a gasp. Then I heard a multitude of **PLIP-PLOP** as I stopped laughing and the sound of liquid meeting liquid rang through my ears. There was warm liquid dripping down my face and it couldn't be tea…it had already cooled too much to be this warm.

I opened my eyes and looked at the blurry image of the girl who sat across from me, her pale hair surrounding her face. I laughed again, looking down at the mix of tea and salt water in the cup in front of me. "And guess what else? When she asked me outright if I had any siblings I told her 'no I didn't have any _real _family until James' family took me in'." the liquid dripped profusely down my face and just would not stop.

"Are-are you alright?" the girl across from me asked as she bent over the distance of the table and wiped at my face with an off-white handkerchief. I grabbed her hand and took the offered cloth from her as she blushed. I wiped at my eyes, why was I crying? "I'm fine." I stated as I took in a deep breath, boys do not cry. I put on a smile but faltered when she said, "Stop it. You don't have to smile if you don't feel like it. It's…it's painful…isn't it? Smiling…and laughing…when you're unhappy? I know it's painful, so…so if you're sad, cry your heart out. And if you're happy and want to laugh, laugh. But…but if you don't want to smile, don't. You can cry; it'll be much easier to laugh and smile afterwards…Chrono told me that, you know…" she trailed off as she looked down, trying to cover the blush that had enveloped her face.

"Yeah?" I say as I lean back in the seat, "I…I do feel better now that I've told someone my side of the story." I lean forwards again, hands clasped together on the table. "I-I really wanted Rosette to move on so she could have a good life…so that when we saw each other again—if we saw each other again—she would say 'thanks, Joshy, for leaving. Now I have a good life and I forgive you for all the words you said that day because it's because of them that I'm where I'm at now.' Then she would smile brightly and call me her little brother again." I smiled bitterly again, "I was rather stupid though. Never thinking that she would come here, come after me and see how I was—come to ask why I had said all those hurtful things to her."

"Well, she did." The pale girl across from me said, surprising me, "She did and I know how she feels. Never knowing where someone you cared about was…never knowing if that person was alright…if they were sick or well. We're…we're a lot alike. We came to find someone—refusing to forget about them." She smiled sadly, "And we did. I found my cousin…and she found you."

I looked up. "She found me and now she's left…just like I did; without a trace. And-and-and I'd wanted to tell her I was sorry. Sorry that I'd said what I'd said. Sorry that she had to worry about me because I didn't tell here where I was or if I was okay." Tears were falling again. I hate crying. Rosette would never cry, not in front of me anyway. And that was something else that I was sorry for; I was sorry she had to be so strong for me because I couldn't be strong enough for her.

"Yes…but, how did you know she wasn't here anymore?" I blinked, so she finally believed my word that Rosette was, in fact, not a boy but a girl. "She ate lunch with me and James and our other friends a lot. Then she stopped coming for so long and so suddenly that I went to her classes and found that she wasn't in any of them anymore. I didn't want to ask Chrono because I didn't want him to know he was rooming with a girl."

I added quickly, "You can't tell Chrono anything, okay?" she nodded and was about to say something when I cut her off.

"Have you heard of Satella Harvenheit's daughter that went missing?" I asked. Her pale head bobbed but a look of confusion lay on her face. "Um…yes, I have…but what does this have to do with your sister?"

"Ms. Harverheit's only twenty-two years-old, correct?" she nodded. "And how old is her missing daughter?"

"Well, they say that Satella's missing daughter is around the age of sixteen or so…why?"

"It would be physically impossible for Satella Harvenheit to have a sixteen year old daughter." A look of astonishment crossed her face. "You're-you're right." her face paled, "Satella would've had to have been six when her 'daughter' was born."

"That's right." I said, "It's impossible for Rosette to be her daughter because Rosette is her half-sister. The illegitimate child of David Harvenheit and Catherine Rieht." She gasped. "And I'm the child of Vinsent Christopher and Catherine Rieht." I added. She gasped again and I laughed saying, "Marriages these days seem to mean nothing."

"But, you can't tell anyone this." I stated seriously, "Do you know where Rosette is?"

"No, I don't. She didn't tell anyone. Even if you'd asked Chrono he wouldn't have known either." I sighed deeply and sunk down into the bench I was leaning on. "I-I'm sure she'll come back though." Azmaria said brightly, "She's already found you, she wouldn't just leave without an explanation or goodbye, would she?" I shook my head; no, she wouldn't.

…

A short time later we were out of the café and walking across the courtyard of the school campus, towards building A; Chrono's dorm building. Azmaria had originally come here to see Chrono, anyway. At the end of our conversation in the café we had concluded that none of us knew where Rosette was, and wouldn't until she revealed to us where she was. So we would wait; we being Azmaria, me — and unknowingly, Chrono would, too.

We talked and I told her about a time at the orphanage when Rosette had blown up at this boy, Billy, who had played soccer and kicked the mud-caked ball into the fresh sheets of laundry that she and the other girl's had just washed. She chased him around and finally threw a bucket of water at his head, he'd ducked and it'd missed but Billy had stopped and she argued with him to help the other children clean the laundry. Then she saw me—on the ground with the bucket over my head. She pulled the bucket off, quickly forgetting her temper and the boy it had been aimed at, and aimed her attention at me, checking me over for bruises or something of the like and trying to wake me up. That was when I started laughing.

The bucket hadn't hit me over the head like she'd thought—I'd put it there. Azmaria and I laughed over that as we made our way closer to the building.

I walked her all the way up to Chrono's door then waited until she disappeared inside before I turned and headed back towards my own dorm building. Despite having not found anymore clues on where Rosette might be I felt a little…happy. A small smile lighted my face and I didn't know why. Maybe it had to do with the fact that I'd finally told someone about why I'd done the things I did and said the things I said…but I knew it was something more…

(Chrono's POV)

Azmaria sat at the little table/desk and watched me as I filled up a cup of water and slowly drank it. She hasn't said anything since she got here. "Would you like something to drink?" I finally ask to break the pressing silence. She shook her head and smiled but finally said something. "How are you doing, Chrono?"

More than a little surprised I stare at her for a moment before dragging a phony grin across my lips and stuttering out, "I-I'm fine. And-and how about y-your self?"

"I'm good."

"O-oh, that's good to hear," I wouldn't let my face falter, I kept the smile up and turned towards her, "Your parents know you're here…right?" I asked and watched as she giggled. "Yes, Chrono, I begged them to let me come to school here. I'm going to St. Claire's down the street."

"Oh." I replied smartly.

"Yes, and have you heard from Christopher?" she asked

"C-Christopher? Uh, no. Nothing." I turned away, trying to hide the look of disappointment from showing on my face…I don't think it worked because then Azmaria asked, "Hey, Chrono, what do like about Rosette?"

Taken aback, I turned sharply and looked at her with a blush growing across my face. "L-like? About-about Rosette?" she nodded in confirmation.

"Uh, uh…" I tried to think of something that wouldn't give away my 'feelings' for her—him! God, I'm _so_ gay! (not that that was wrong; it's just that since Rosette isn't, I shouldn't be feeling like this for him, dammit! And why the heck is it that I only feel this way at the mention of her—him! I'm doing it again! Calling a boy a girl! I'm seriously crazy.) "I…don't know." I finally said, the blush still very prominent on my face.

"Oh, c'mon, Chrono, tell me what you like about Rosette." Azzy insisted, "I _know_ there's at least _one_ quality of hers that you like."

If possible my blush deepened at Azmaria's gentle insistence and teasing. I hung my head low, trying my best to cover my blush with my dark bangs, and shook my head violently. I didn't want Azmaria to know; if I told her what I felt then I would probably go on to explain what I was doing because of these feelings (which is getting beat up and bloodied until Aion's happy). And that would then, more likely than not, also drag Azmaria into this stupid mess I seem to have created around me. If I didn't want Rosette in this mess, I equally didn't want Azmaria in this mess; I would fix things somehow. And…Azmaria was innocent, truly innocent and naïve. She didn't belong in this mess.

"C'mon, please, cousin?" she pleaded, "Tell me what you like about Christopher Rosette."

I shook my head, uh-uh there was NO WAY.

"If you don't I'll-I'll" she paused seeming to think about something, then her face lit up, "I'll assume that you hate her guts and wish to never see her again and I'll tell her so when I find her!" I reacted immediately—just like how she hoped I would, "NO! Okay, I really, really, really _like_ Rosette, okay!? I do!"

She smiled, "Tell me one specific trait you like about her." She insisted.

I didn't even think as the next words flew out of my mouth, "Rosette—she's kind and cares. She's forgiving. But never forgets. She's so strong and yet she's so fragile. She understands but has her own opinions. She knows pain and she still holds warmth…I love that about her…I just…love Rosette…"

I trailed off as my eyes widened in horror at what I'd just confessed and what I'd just said. I pulled my hands up to quickly cover my mouth and keep any more truths from being spoken. I looked up ashamedly at Azmaria…and saw with surprise that she was looking happily at me, "I knew it." she said. Then she bounced up and hugged me. "You _have_ to tell Rosette when she comes back. It'll work out, so you have to tell Rosette!" she said happily. I stood frozen in confusion as she hugged me tightly then pulled away, a thoughtful look on her face as I heard her mutter, "Maybe I said a bit much…I hardly know what's going on myself…" to herself.

…

It wasn't until late in the night and long after Azmaria left that what she said registered in my head…and confused me more. Azzy had said 'her' and instead of calling him 'Christopher'—like she'd done before—she'd called him 'Rosette'. Then there was what she'd muttered to herself: "Maybe I said a bit much…I hardly know what's going on myself…" what had she meant by that?

**--END CHAPTER FIFTEEN--**

**A/N: Was it worth waiting for? I hope so. Tell me what you think, I've already got the next chapter pretty much done so I'll post it really soon, 'kay? Again, REVIEW! They're really nice to read XD!**


	16. Chapter 16 Found

**A/N: This was quick wasn't it? And now, we're on chapter...woah, WE'RE ALREDY ON _CHAPTER SIXTEEN_! Well, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter: MisoGirl, snekochan, and chie...chu. I'dreally like to thank MisoGirl and snekochan for reviewing EVERY single one of the chapters of this story. I hope you guys know I appreciate you! Now, here it is: Enjoy!**

**P.S. There was a time skip: now it's December. **

* * *

(Rosette's POV) 

So there's no use denying it any longer…at least not to the little girl known as Ally who plans on beating Chrono up if he doesn't like me back. I giggle at the thought of the little girl jumping him…and him letting her win because she's a little girl that he doesn't know. I think back to the rest of that night. If I'm lucky Ally would've forgotten everything we said. She hasn't said anything…yet.

If not…well, we'll just cross that bridge when we get there. I hear the door creak open—and speak of the devil—Ally's head pops up between the crack. "Good Morning, Christopher." I smile back. "You're up early." I say.

She smiles proudly and says, "You're going to bring Chrono here for Christmas, right?" I blanch and a vein throbs in my head: from anger at myself for underestimating a little kid, especially _that_ little kid. "Riiiiiiggghht, Chriiiiisstooopheeeer?" she drawls out the words as she looks at my face.

"Uh-um…uh…" I'm fumbling with my words, "Uh…um…no?" I finally say. And she gives me the saddest puppy eyes I think I've ever seen. "Uh…uh-well, you see," I try fruitlessly try to think of an excuse…Oh, "Chrono lives too far away to come." I feel like smacking myself upside the head for not thinking of that quicker.

She pouts and turns to leave when I tell her to wait. I walk towards her and close the door then kneel down in front of her and say in a serious voice, "Ally," her pout disappears at the serious tone my voice has taken on, "I need you to promise me that you won't tell anyone about Chrono, okay?" she looks at me then asks, "Why?"

"Because," I say, "it's a secret, a super-duper-extra-special-secret-secret. I need to tell Chrono first, then you can tell anyone you want about him, okay?" she nods vigorously, "Okay, Christopher." I nod and say, "Good."

I push her out the door ad head into the attached bathroom, carrying a long strip of cloth with me. I stand in front of the mirror and take off my shirt. I slowly bind the cloth around my bare chest, making sure that I've bind my breast tightly, so that no one will know. No one can know, not yet.

I pull on the tight denim vest, buttoning it up, then pull the shirt back on and fix it. I look in the mirror once more to make sure it looks flat, like a guys' would.

I walk out the door of my room and head towards the kitchen downstairs. Most of the kids are better, only the two oldest are still sick. When I get there, they're all just starting to amble in. I smile. Miss Jean is in bed, sick. I'll have to go another day alone.

I suddenly have the strange prickling sense that I'm being watched; it had grown even keener after I learned the martial arts. I look around the room. All the kids are busy doing their own thing, none are even looking my direction. I scold myself, why am I being so paranoid today?

My eyes flicker over to the window and outside to see the weather. I see a flash of black dash behind one of the many trees surrounding the orphanage. I blink and there's nothing there…just a rustling of dead branches from the bush beside the tree.

I'm about to turn back to the kids and dismiss it as my imagination when I see another flicker go behind another tree. Okaaay. Maybe I'm crazier than I thought. That was just a bird…right? I see another at the edge of my vision. I don't look at it immediately; I've learned to not let on how much I know. I continue to look out the window, but my head is tilted up so that it seems like I'm looking at the sky.

I see another flicker. Whoever it is, they're fast. And I suspect that...they're after me.

"Hey, you guys," I call to the kids, they turn around and look at me as I call out, "Um…get the things out for breakfast and set the table for me, okay?" I'm looking at them but I can still see the strange flickers of motion in my peripheral. They look at me and ask why. "Well, I need to check something in—the bathroom. I'll be right back, okay?" I ask hastily, growing more and more worried.

They nod and I turn out of the room. I close the door behind me and move quickly in the direction of the front door. If they expect me to come out, they'll suspect that I go through the back door to avoid the kids. I open the door quietly and close it quietly behind me. I walk inconspicuously down the walk and towards the surrounding woods that is dusted in a layer of fine snow, stretching once to make it seem as if I just came out for a quick walk.

When I'm safely surrounded by a wall of trees and snow the first one drops. He drops behind me, I don't need to turn around to know that someone's there. Then two more drop in front of me. And before long I'm surrounded by them; sneering men (how sexist of them to think that they could beat me just because they're guys), dressed in simple black trousers and white loosely buttoned dress shirts, over this they wear black trench coats; they even have shaved heads and sunglasses on!

I smirk. The sight makes me want to laugh. I feel like I'm in some goddamned secret agent movie or something. What's with the getup?

"Miss Rosette Harvenheit," the man directly in front of me says. I suspect he's the leader, "we've been sent by Miss Satella Harevenheit to retrieve you. Please come with us." He holds out a hand. I don't take it. "If you don't come willingly I'm afraid we'll have to take you by force." He steps forward 'threateningly'.

I smile sweetly and make him stumble on his next step, "Take me by force?" I ask, quoting the man who acts as the leader. He nods, "Now, Miss Rosette, please come with us." I smirk and cross my arms like a child, "Make me." He steps forward and the circle I'm in is made tighter by the other men following his lead.

"Last time. Take my hand and come back with us." He holds his hand out to me. I close my eyes and slap his offered hand away saying, "And if I don't want to?" I hear a growl from the man.

"Okay, boys, tie her, gag her, do whatever. We have to get her to Miss Harvenheit." He moves back and the circle is tightened even further. They start gently towards me with concern, and I almost feel bad for what I have to do next. But they _are_ sexist, and it's unavoidable.

A guy moves towards me quickly, rope in his hands, right behind him is another, a long, thick strip of dark clothe in his hands. I can sense one behind me and…I can smell the stuff they put on the cloth to knock people out: chloroform.

I don't open my eyes but bend forward and kick my right foot back, getting the man behind me right in the groin. Can't say I can play fair when they so obviously outnumbered me. I hear the man behind give a satisfying gasp then before any of the others have time to react I snap my eyes open and swing a right punch then a left punch at the two guys in front of me. I hear a crack and see that I've hit both in the jaw.

I turn to the side and swing my leg for a roundhouse kick, knocking several guys off their feet.

I turn to the remaining guys, including the leader, who are looking at the third of them that I've already knocked out. Their jaws close quickly as they start towards me. One swings a punch at me from one direction and I block it with the back of my forearms. I swing a punch, trying for an uppercut, but not getting it. Still the man stumbles back and falls. I'm still looking at him, having somehow forgotten that there are more men around me, when I feel a punch to my cheek.

I fall onto my back and into the snow. I recover quickly and look sharply back to see who had directed the punch. It's the leader who did, and he's moving quickly forward. Much too quickly as I notice he's now sitting on my stomach and has a knee up to my neck, cutting off just enough air that it's a little difficult to breathe. The man beckons another to bring the rope and gassed cloth. But before the other can I arch my back and flip out from under him, I stand and move backwards quickly as a patch of snow flurries around me at the move and falls back to the ground.

By this time I'm starting to breathe a little harder than before, trying to catch my breath. I turn quickly, looking away as I hear distant footsteps—and that was my mistake. Before I knew it one of the men had me from behind and the chloroformed cloth was being pushed into my face. I tried…I tried not to breathe in the poisonous fumes. Suddenly the footsteps are running quickly towards us—frantic little foot thumps on the ground—the children!

The enemy falters and I twist from his grip and turn to punch him in the face. I hit him square in the jaw as he turns in the direction in which I entered the little clearing surrounded by trees. The footsteps are getting quicker.

"Come, Miss Harvenhiet! You don't want to involve the orphans, do you?!" I hear the leader guy hiss, it was more a statement than a question. I don't move from my spot. "Shit." He swears, "We'll be back. Next time we're not going to be so kind; it'll be either you come with us nicely—without involving the little kids—or you try to stay and we'll _force_ you to come with us," he looks pointingly at the trail that leads into the small clearing, "one way or another. _Any way_ we have to." He starts walking in the opposite direction of the clearing. He stops as the other men walk past him and turns to look at me. "I hope you make the right decision." He says. And like that, they're gone.

Just as I glimpse their backs disappearing beyond my view I'm jumped by a dozen or so little bodies.

"Why're you out here without anything on, Christopher?!" I hear shouted from someone.

"Uh…I was…getting the newspaper. Yeah! That's all! I was just getting the newspaper." I answer, inconspicuously…or so I thought. "So. Where's the paper then?" Nina says from the edge of the clearing.

Ugh! Why does Nina have to be the second oldest! She's soooo inquisitive! "That. I was just kidding. I wasn't anywhere, and, anyway, that's beside the point. What're _you_ doing out _here_?" I say as I look at the lot of them. "Well," Nina rubs her arms as though she's cold, she might be, "you said we couldn't use the stove unless you, Ms. Jean, or Billy, or Ryan was there…and well, none of you guys were there. We wanted to start breakfast. We looked for you in the house but we couldn't find you." She looks embarrassedly around at the ground, "Then we saw the footprints out here and found your jacket still in your room, so…" she trails off as her eyes continue to wander, "What happened here?" she asks.

Oh. Shit. I look around, too, at the disturbed snow. Something definitely happened here. I laugh nervously. "Nothing. I just decided I wanted to play a little…" I trail off as I blush at the lame excuse. "Anyway, that doesn't matter. Let's get back to breakfast. Didn't you say you guys were hungry?" grumbling, they did as I said and breakfast was back on track as this time we marched inside and I really went to the bathroom.

I locked the door behind me and looked in the mirror. Shit! The bruise is starting to show, it's turning a grossly black-blue color. What the heck am I supposed to do to hide _this_? I look through the cabinet for a bandage. But…would that make it more suspicious or less? Less, I hope.

I grab one of the larger, sticky, white bandages and peel off the backing that's around the edges. I fix it so it covers the bruise on my right cheek and take off my clothes, quickly throwing on another pair, and start back towards the kitchen.

"What happened to your face?" Nelly asks as she glances up from the bowl of eggs that she's beating. At the words the other kids turn around to look at me. Thank goodness she didn't notice that I'd changed my clothes too.

"Nothing, really." I said as I turned on the stove and look at the other things the kids are doing. Nina is mixing a bowl of what, I think, is pancake mix. Some of the younger kids are taking out fruit from the fridge and washing them in the sink. "So you guys want pancake and eggs?" I asked. They nodded. "Okay. Let's scramble those eggs then."

…

I pace the bedroom floor. They've found me. I have to think of something. I've got to…I've got to move! They said they would come to take me back _ANY WAY_. If I went with them nicely then I would lose my chances…my chances of ever finding any real answers to the questions that had bothered me all these years…the answers that I've been fighting to know all these years. If I resisted I know they would try something drastic…like holding the kids hostage until I agreed to go 'home' with them.

But if they come back to find me gone…then they wouldn't have any reason to trouble the orphanage. But…I haven't decided on what I'd do about Joshua…but, I remind myself, I have to compromise—I can't be so selfish. If I keep being so selfish someone might get hurt because of me…and that's not something I want. I don't want someone to _ever_ be hurt because of me.

Yes. Then leaving was my only option. Anyways the school break would be soon: Thanksgiving break had passed and it was now the 17th of December; winter break started on the 19th; the day after tomorrow. I needed to tell Ms. Jean. Tell her that I wouldn't be able to work here anymore. Guilt pushed down on my conscience at the thought; Ms. Jean depended whole-heartedly on me. She'd believed and trusted in me since I started here. And now…now it seemed like I was breaking that trust.

Shit. That's what I was in; I was in some _deep shit._ This would be better for her; for the children, I remind myself. This was the only way they _wouldn't_ be threatened. By just staying here I was threatening their safety. I would go back to the school tomorrow. There was no other way. And, plus, I needed to go back there some time—so there was no better time then now, was ther—

"Christopher, Nelly and Nina told me to come get you because we're done with the chores and it's time for lunch." I turned around sharply, then exhaled a breath I didn't remember holding to find it was Ally with her head peaking through the opening between the door and the doorframe.

"Okay, thanks. I'll be right down…I…have to talk to Ms. Jean first…Tell Nina and Nelly to get the other kids too, okay? I…have some news for you guys." she nodded but looked a moment more at me before closing the door and heading back downstairs.

I'd have to speak to Ms. Jean right now if I was to leave by tonight; it would for sure be a longer trip getting back to New York then coming here—with all the snow and traffic and it being holiday season and such. I walked briskly through the door, closing it soundly behind me before heading towards Ms. Jean's room.

I knocked on the door and waited to hear "Come in." before I opened it up. The door creaked as it swung on its un-oiled hinges.

"Ms. Jean?" I questioned.

She looked up from the book she was reading in her bed. "Oh, Christopher, do you need something, dear?

I looked down guiltily, I hated that I had to leave _today_ of all days; she was _sick_, for heavens sake! But I knew I couldn't stay here any longer than I already have; if I did I'd just be putting them in more danger.

"Ms. Jean," I said as I started towards the chair beside her bed, my tone all seriousness, "I…I have some bad news." I waited for her reaction as I sat next to her, the door still slightly ajar.

She looked at me seriously, fearful of the news I had to deliver. It just _had_ to be at _this_ time, didn't it. I cursed myself again.

"Ms. Jean, I…I'm really thankful that you let me work here on such short notice—and that I even get paid," I started again, "But…but, unfortunately, I've got to leave." I waited before I said the next part.

"Something happened. I have to leave. Tonight." I got up, "I'm sorry I told you on such a short notice, and _now_ of all times when you're sick and probably need help with the orphanage most…but," I stopped before the door and turned around to face her, "Staying here is not an option; it would endanger you guys if I stayed here any longer. Again, I'm really sorry." I bowed my head low and hurried towards the door; I couldn't stand to see her disappointment, her anger I could, but not her disappointment.

As I opened the door I came face to face with the faces of twelve or more children, all looking disbelievingly at me…and among them was Ally.

"You're…you're not _really_ going…right, Christopher?" she asked brokenly. I closed the door behind me before turning to look at the children in front of me. I herded them downstairs, saying nothing.

…

I sat at the head of the long dining table. The kids sat quietly around me eating their lunch of rolls, tomato soup, and salad. We'd already brought something up for Ms. Jean to eat.

Finally Ally spoke up, albeit softly, and said, "Christopher, what you said…you're not really…leaving…are you?" Her voice broke on the last few words as she spoke.

"I…am." I said as I looked up. I needed to let the kids know, too. I would be leaving tonight. "I have to leave…" I paused as they looked up, "I'm leaving…tonight…" I trailed off as I heard several exclamations of surprise.

Ally and several of the other younger kids ran up to me, leaving their lunch behind, to question if I wasn't only kidding, if I really had to leave, and other such questions to all of which I answered that no, I was not kidding and yes, I had to leave. After that everyone's lunch went untouched—even Billy and Ryan's, as well as my own.

…

With my things all packed I headed down the hall and towards the front door. I'd just gone into Ms. Jean's room and told her I would be leaving now and that I'm sorry. She'd smiled softly and said, "It's alright, Christopher. Please come back and visit, though. The children love you so much." I had smiled guiltily back at her and promised to come back as soon as I could afford to. After that she'd smiled again and wished me well. I still felt guilty.

I had just reached the front door and was about to leave—without telling anyone else goodbye—when I was tackled around the legs by a bunch of little sniffling bodies.

"Christopher, don't go!" Eugene sniffled as he grabbed hold of my legs—along with the voices of the other kids gathered there. At the doorframe leading into the living-room leaned Billy and Ryan, both looking down at their feet.

"Weren't you at least going to say goodbye to us, Christopher?!" Ally cried out as she hit my stomach with her tiny rolled up fist.

"No." I said as I looked down at her before falling down onto the floor and kneeling next to her and the other children who were asking the same questions. I patted their heads and shushed them before continuing, "No, I wasn't going to say goodbye—"

I was cut off as Ally suddenly wailed out, "Why not? Don't you like us, Christopher?! Don't you?!! Why do you have to leave?! I thought you said you liked us!"

I shushed her gently and pulled them all in for a hug as I said, "Of course, honey, of course I like you all. It's just, I have to leave. I'll come back, though, I promise, okay? And…I didn't want to say goodbye because…" my voice grew quiet as I recalled why I didn't like goodbyes, "…when I was little…people were always saying goodbye and leaving me…to me, goodbye meant…forever."

I looked softly up into her red face. "And…I'm going to see you again…I'll come back…that's why I didn't want to say goodbye…okay, honey? Now stop crying, please stop crying…I did say I'd come back and I will. I will." I finished as I stood up, "I have to go now; I can't miss the bus. See ya." I called as I walked out the door with my backpack slung on my back and nothing else in my hands.

**--END CHAPTER SIXTEEN--**

**A/N: So...what do you think? Good? Bad? Horrible?REVIEW! and let me know! I've already started the next chapter, too, so it should be up fairly soon. Also if anything's confusing you so far TELL ME and I'll try to help you understand without spoiling the whole story. **


	17. Chapter 17 Different

**A/N: Sincere apologies (is it just me or am I apologizing a lot recently?). Okay, I know this is a short chapter--well, shorter than the other ones anyway--but it's harder to write for Chrono; he doesn't know everything that's going on and some of the other relationships. But I guess this will have to do. Sorry again if this chapter sucks, I hope you like it anyway! Enjoy!**

* * *

(Chrono's POV)

He was worse. After Aion had come back from Thanksgiving break he was worse; so much worse that Genai seemed like a saint next to him. Not that I was going to go so far as to say that he was, he was anything but. They were worse now and I was…different, to say the least. I knew I had changed. Whenever someone reached for me, now, I flinched, even when I tried not to. I know Azmaria's noticed. She's visited me. Not frequently, but enough; Joshua escorts her here most of the time.

I know something is happening between those two. I just hope Azzy doesn't get her heart broken by him. I can see she really likes him. I think she even likes him as much as I like Rosette—I mean CHRISTOPHER—which is a lot, by the way. Maybe I'm not the best person to determine this. But that's what I see. But then again, what I see might not be right—I'm a love-sick fool after all. That phrase is too true. I sigh and look down at the book in front of me: _Twilight_, I was still reading this thing. Love makes everyone a fool.

"Mr. Daemon!" the teacher shouts loudly and I'm started out of my phase. "Uh-um, yes?" I ask quietly. I don't dare look up.

"I asked you what the answer to this question was…" she states the question again as I heave a sigh. I've been doing that a lot recently. Is it good to be sighing so much? I don't think it is.

* * *

I lie in the bed. Not _my_ bed, I've taken a liking to sleeping in Rosette's bed. It's…calming. I wonder how she got so close to me in such a short span of time. I wonder. I sigh (again). It's late, I know I should be going to sleep, but…it's weird, even when I sleep I'm bothered by Aion.

In my dreams—actually they're more like nightmares—he's chasing me with a kitchen knife. Strapped on his belt is a gun, but he doesn't want to use it—he wants me to suffer. He wants me to die slowly, painfully. Then I slam into a glass wall. And there on the other side is Aion and Genai and some unknown faces, they've created a semicircle around a person kneeled on the ground. The form is hunched and the whole scene is taking place in a claustrophobic ally. Aion kicks the form and the person falls to the ground and somehow I'm relieved …that is, until I see the face of the person who looks up at me as her face lands on the pavement.

It's Rosette. She's—he's!—looking at me with eyes that plead for me to run away! To hide! I only see her—his!—face for a moment before she is hidden behind a wall of kicking feet and swinging fists. I scream. I yell. I pound on the glass wall separating us. Why won't she fight back?! Why is she—he!—there!? And why is Aion there and not chasing me with the bloody knife!? Why won't she get up!? Why won't she fight back!? WHY!?

I pound and pound on the glass and then suddenly all the walls surrounding us disappear, the other people along with it. Everything except for the area from me to Rosette fades to black and I walk slowly towards her. I kneel in front of her and pull her—him!—into my lap as I shake her shoulders. She's not moving. Why won't she move?! Why won't she open her eyes!? "Rosette?" I call hoarsely in a whisper. My voice echoes back at me through the surrounding darkness.

I look around me then back to Rosette. I call her name again, louder this time. As I shake her I notice a pool of blood surrounding us. Blood? Why...is there blood?

Abruptly I'm plunged into a pitch black pit, and then into a softly lit church. People are crying as a coffin is carried to the front of the church. I'm standing at the back and watch as the coffin is laid on a platform. People continue to cry and a priest talks as I make my way towards the coffin, a feeling of dread developing in my gut. This is too familiar. Mother.

My heart thumps. The priest keeps talking as the people continue to hug each other and cry, it's as if they don't see me. As I slowly get closer to the coffin the people around me start to melt and fade away until the church is empty and the only sounds are the sounds of my feet hitting the cold stone floor and my heart beating loudly in my ears. I'm right in front of the coffin now. And upon closer inspection, it…looks almost exactly like…Mother's. But…

I fearfully lift the lid of the coffin. I gasp as I let go of the lid and it fell away, revealing the cold body inside. It's Rosette…but she's—he's—in a bodice-fitting cream coloured dress with light lavender wisteria prints. The waist of the dress is tied with a dark purple ribbon and from the waist below it is layered with a few layers of cream coloured lace until it ended just above her toes. Under her is a bed of wildflowers and her hair is splayed around her head in a halo of honey-gold as her fingers are folded neatly on her stomach. I back away.

This wasn't Rosette. It couldn't be. She—he!—couldn't be dead! And…and she wouldn't…_HE_ wouldn't be wearing a dress! Not a dress! If she—he!—_was_ dead he would be wearing a SUIT! So…so…this couldn't be Rosette!

I turned around and ran towards the double doors of the church. Suddenly I was running from Aion again and he was behind me with his bloody kitchen knife and gun strapped to his waist. And again I slammed into the glass wall and saw as Aion and the others surrounded a hunched figure…this time I saw the face before it fell to the ground. This time as soon as everything faded around us I ran to her. I called her name. Suddenly footsteps resounded around us, heavy, calculated footsteps. I got on my feet and face the direction in which the footsteps sounded from.

Out of the darkness and into the light stepped Aion. The gun was pointed and level with my head. I watched in slow motion as he sneered and pulled the trigger…Suddenly Rosette was in front of me and Aion smirked as he disappeared into the shadows. I watched, unable to move, as the bullet flew in slow motion at us—at Rosette!

That's when I wake. Sweat poring off my body and dampening the sheets and blankets twisted around me as I breathe heavily to try and catch the breath I had somehow lost. Good God, I hated these types of dreams. They were so realistic and all so alike. Aion is always chasing me but he always... 'kills' Rosette.

I heave in another breath and look at the digital clock beside the bed. 3:47 a.m. I heave in another breath. Well, at least I didn't wake up so early this time. I know I won't be getting anymore sleep tonight. I get up and make my way towards my backpack.

I should study for the end-quarter tests I have today. We have the mid-term test after winter break, thank God. I take out the quarter review papers.

* * *

My head rests on my arms as my eyelids sneakily slide over my eyes. I jerk painfully awake as a teacher orders us to stop and hand in our test. Shoot! I look down at my paper. Only ten of the fifty multiple-choice bubbles are filled in. I look helplessly up at Shader with pleading eyes. She sighs and walks over to me.

"Chrono, what's going on? Why're you slacking off?"

So she's noticed. I've fallen asleep in more than her class and more than once. I look down. "Okay." She says softly. Then her voice perks up as she says teasingly, "Finish up now. And you better get a good test score. I'd hate to think you learned nothing from me. I fancy myself a _wonderful_ teacher!"

I laugh. "Of course, Shader! You're a _wonderful_ teacher." I look hurriedly at the test questions then start filling in the bubbles.

* * *

Azmaria's having lunch with me today. I push the food on my plate around as I listen to her talk quietly. I put down the fork and lay my head down on my folded arms. I didn't intend to but the next thing I know I'm being softly shaken awake by Azmaria. I flinch unconsciously as I feel her hands on my shoulders. She lets go and settles for calling my name instead. I rouse and look at her.

She looks worriedly at me and I say, "Sorry, Azzy, I'm just…really tired." I rest my forehead against the table.

"Oh," she says and pauses before she says, "What's been keeping you up?"

"It's nothing," I say. I feel her eyes boring into the top of my head so I finally say, "It's just some…some nightmares. That's all."

"Oh." She says again.

"Yeah." I say. I look up at her. She looks timidly at me before: "You know, you can tell me about it, right?" I nod.

"Well," she hesitates, "Can you tell me about it?"

Sighing I nod, I'm not going to tell her everything, of course. "Okay, so in this dream I'm running from…somebody with a knife," I say. I'm not about to tell her who, that would make her too involved. "He has a gun at his waist but he doesn't use it. I don't know how but I know he wants me to suffer. He's chasing me and suddenly I run into this thick glass wall. And suddenly the guy's not running behind me anymore—now he's on the other side of the glass." I hesitate wondering if I should continue. I look at Azmaria who's looking at me encouragingly so I continue, "He, and some other men are in this really closed-in ally and they're in a semicircle around this small hunched form. So the guy who was chasing me suddenly kicks the kneeling form and…I feel relieved," I look quickly up at her, "that-that he doesn't see me! But then I see who the person in the middle of the semicircle is." She looks intently at me, "It's…" I look away, "it's…Rosette." she gasps. "What?!"

"Yeah," I say as I look away, "then all the people start beating Rosette up—they kick and punch at her. Suddenly everything around us fades away. All the people, too. Everything around us turns black and the only thing that is still there is the distance between me and Rosette—I mean Christopher. So…I walk towards he—HIM," I catch myself before I say 'her' again. "When I get there…Christopher's not moving. I call out…his name. But, he doesn't answer. I call out again and he doesn't respond so I walk over and shake him a little. That's when I…notice the…pool of blood around us.

"Then everything turns black again and the next thing I know I'm standing at the back of a church as a coffin is brought up to the front of the church. All around me people are crying as I walk to the front. When I get to the front all the people are gone. I go up to the casket and lift up the lid. It's Rosette." I hear her gasp again. "So, I'm thinking that that can't be Rosette and I start running towards the back doors. Suddenly I'm running from that same person with the knife and gun again. And then I slam into the glass wall again and watch as Rosette is beat up. When everything fades like before instead of walking, this time I run over there. I only call out 'Rosette' once and then I hear footsteps. So I turn to see who it is, I get up on my feet and face the direction the sounds are coming from." I swirl the straw around in the milk as I think about what to say next. "The…person who was chasing me before…is standing there…holding the gun level with my face. Then…in slow motion, he pulls the trigger and somehow Rosette gets in front of me. The bullet is flying towards us and I can see as the person steps back into the shadows…but we can't move…and the bullet's still flying towards us. That's when I wake up."

I look up to see Azmaria with a pale face. "You…that was…what you dreamed?" she asks.

"Yeah." I return as I look back down at my plate.

She nods her head as I look back up at her, "I can see why you wouldn't be able to sleep..."

"Yeah," I agree, "and I keep falling asleep in classes. I think some of the teachers are getting annoyed. I bet they are."

She nods but her face is confused, "But…Chrono, do you only have these types of dreams at night?"

I nod. I'm not going to tell her I only have them on nights after I've been beaten the hell up; I've burdened her with enough for now. But I don't want her to get too worried so I add, "Yeah, but it's okay. It was only one nightmare anyway. And I'm still keeping up in classes. It was just yesterday…" I trail off.

She nods and starts to pick at her food as she looks thoughtfully down at it. I…have that uneasy feeling where you know someone's staring at you—and not in a good way either. I turn around and catch Genai as he turns back to face his table of friends. Has he been sitting there this whole time?

He glances up then looks away, sliding his eyes toward Aion who is, at the moment, preoccupied talking to one of the nuns—Rizelle, I think.

He's wearing a smirk on his face.

**--END CHAPTER SEVENTEEN--**

**A/N: Hmm...wasn't too bad, right? I know it's short--that's what's so aggravating to me right now--but it's the best I could do as of the moment. Life's getting kinda busy for me; jeeze, I can remember life was sooo much sweeter...and easier. But, now? Now my life is getting more and more horrible by the minute it seems. So many goddamned PROBLEMS! n.n; anyways sorry to vent on you guys (whoever's reading this) like that. But do tell me what you think: REVIEW and make my day better (please T-T)**


	18. Chapter 18 Siblings Confess

**A/N: Hey, I'm back with a new chapter! Took longer this time but...I think this chapter turned out okay. Anyways thanks to everyone who's taking the time to review and also to anyone who's reading! 'Kay, Enjoy!**

(Rosette's POV)

It was never goodbye. I knew I would see him again. Joshua. My brother. I would definitely see him again, I knew.

He never said goodbye, he knew what it meant to me. Goodbye meant _forever_. He wasn't gone forever…or so I'd thought. Maybe—now that I think about it—maybe you didn't need to say goodbye to make it mean forever. I lean my head against the headrest of the seat I was sitting in. With a sigh I peered out the window of the plane as a pilot announced that we were going to land soon and for us to buckle up.

I'm back. A small smile appeared on the reflection of my face in the window. Yes, I was back to make certain. It was time I learned what was going on. Or rather: what had gone on four years ago. It was time I confronted Joshua face-to-face—with the face of his sister. I…needed to know. I needed to put this behind me. I needed to move on, I knew. Satella's words the day before I left echoed in my head:

"_Rosette, you've gotta move on. Whatever happened in the past is all water under the bridge now—you can't change the past so stop living in it and _move on_. Stop looking back and look around you—look forward." _

She was pretty wise sometimes. Even though most of the time Satella acted like a total ditz, fact was: she wasn't. Actually, I respect her a lot—though I'd never tell her—the only real reason I didn't like her was that she kept insisting I move on and stop thinking about Joshua. She doesn't understand though. She doesn't understand how it feels to have your little brother who you've grown up with and taken care of since your mother and father died just suddenly say that you're not family and leave. Just like that they're gone—out of your life. She doesn't understand how it feels to be incompetent—how it's like to feel like you're not good enough.

The plane started its descent. I…that was why I'd trained so hard, studied so hard: I didn't want to be seen as incompetent—a burden to other people, a weakness. A liability. Was I still too weak? Was I not good enough yet? I closed my eyes and heaved in a deep sigh, snow was falling lightly outside.

And Chrono? I knew I was not good enough for Chrono. He deserved better—like that girl, Mary, who went to the girls' catholic school a few blocks down the street. She was beautiful; she had the lithe figure and curves in all the right places, long platinum hair, a kind, selfless heart and a cute smile, she was ladylike and…everything I wasn't. She could melt his heart—she could melt anyone's. Chrono deserved someone like her. I'd only hurt him, I knew. I was selfish—very, very selfish—and I knew I would go to the extremes to get where I needed to be. I was very stubborn and rough with him. I was probably a bad influence for him, too. I smiled. Azmaria, his cousin, had said they'd sent him away because they thought _he_ was a bad influence on her. That wasn't possible. Chrono couldn't be a bad influence on anyone. He was hardly the type to swing a fist.

I don't know what I'm going to do about him. I…I thought I would tell him how I feel, and all that stuff. But…maybe it's best if he doesn't know how I feel…? Well, I'll save that for later. Right now it was time to think about what I was going to say to Joshua.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is now safe to get up. Please make sure you take all personal possessions with you. Thank you and we hope you enjoyed your flight."

I waited as the people passed me by. I got up. Time to go, huh? I grabbed my bag, slinging it over my shoulder and headed down the aisle.

I pulled the door open just as it swung open. "Oh, hey, can we talk?" A stunned Joshua stared me in the face for a moment before another face appeared next to his just as surprised. "Azzy?" I asked, now as confused as the two. What was Azmaria doing _here_ of all places. I recovered quicker than the two and asked, "Can we talk—in _private_?" I emphasized 'private'.

"Oh. Um…" Azzy looked between the two of us, "I'll, uh—leave. 'Kay, um, I'll talk to you later, Joshua!" She was just about to run off when I grabbed her wrist, "Wait, Azzy. Can I talk to you afterwards?"

She smiled. "Yeah, sure, I'll be back here about…an hour before the party starts, okay?" she asked after she looked at her watch. "Yeah, okay." I said as I let go of her wrist and turned to Joshua. "Private?" I asked again. Where we were standing at the moment wasn't exactly private—we were standing in front of the front entrance to Joshua's dorm building.

"Yeah. Um…let's go…" he paused to think. "The café around the corner?" I filled in. He smiled nervously at me, nodding his sandy blonde hair as he started after me.

"Um…Christopher—no, _Rosette_—"

"Shut up, Joshua Christopher. We'll talk when we get to the café." I cut him off as I walked quicker in front of him. I slowed down slightly as we got closer to the school gate. Aion Rennis was just walking through, talking to Genai—the horny ass who chased Azzy the day that I left—when he saw us, he smirked. He did a mock bow and looked up saying, "Why, if it isn't Christopher Rozet. Haven't seen you in a while." He sneered as he turned and left.

"Man, what's with that guy. He's so dramatic." Joshua remarked as he scratched the back of his neck.

Again I got that nagging feeling of danger. I turned slightly to see Aion disappear behind the doors of the building we'd just come from. "C'mon." I said as I speed-walked ahead of Joshua again.

"Now you can talk. What do you have to say for yourself, Joshua?" I asked as I avoided his eyes and stared down at the cup of hot chocolate I'd ordered.

I could feel his eyes as he looked at me then back down to his own cup of hot chocolate. "I…you…um, four years ago…I…um…you—" he stuttered. I could feel as a vein throbbed on my forehead. "What. Do. You. Have. To. Say. _Joshua_? Spit it out already." I said through clenched teeth as I lifted my head and looked at him.

"Well, uh…well, I…uh…at the orphanage…I…you—" he started stuttering again. "Fine!" I yelled, "I'll tell you what _I've_ been doing these past years, _brother_. You want to know what _I've_ been doing?! I'll tell you! I worked my _butt_ off; I trained so hard at _every martial art_ I could learn and I studied so hard at _every damn subject_ in the school that I didn't even have _time_ to talk to the people around me! I worked _that_ hard just so that when I saw you again you would see that I wasn't _incompetent_! And what do you do when you see me again, your own _sister_!? You ask me _who the HELL_ I was! That's what you did—then when I asked you if you had any siblings, what did you say?! You said _NO_! _None_!" I couldn't help it I got up and my fist pounded into the table. I breathed slowly as a waitress turned to look at us. Slowly I say down again. "That's what I did! I _thought_ about you, _Joshua Christopher_! I _worried_ about you, _about your health_! And now I see that you were _just fine_ all along! Well, guess what, you could've let me _know_! You could've sent me a letter—!"

"Well, I didn't ask you to do all _that_, now did I, Rosette!? I _never_ asked for you to _worry about me_, I didn't ask for you to _care_! And I didn't even have _your address_, how the _hell_ did you expect me to send you a letter?!" Joshua shouted right back at me. I'm so surprised I can't say a word. "I never asked you to do _any of those things_ for me! I _never_ told you to go and learn all that stuff! _Why_ did you even worry about me, you were supposed to go and live an _easy, happy_ life! But _NOOOoooo_ you did all that stuff! And I-I-" he hiccupped and I looked up. Why was he hiccupping? What, was he using one breath to say too much? No, I got up and moved across the table, my old loving worried sisterly side taking over; Joshua was crying.

He looked up when I sat next to him. More tears appeared in his eyes as he wiped at them and shook his head. "You-hiccup-you're not-hiccup-not supposed to c-care." He whispered. "Didn't-hiccup-didn't you hear-hiccup-anything I s-said?"

I wrapped my arms around him. "It's okay, Joshy. It's okay…" His body shook as I heard soft sobs come from him mixed with "I'm sorry, sis". I hugged him tightly, no longer feeling like the sixteen year old that I was, but like the little child that tried to comfort her little brother even while she herself was grieving about their parents' death.

After what felt like an eternity Joshua's body stopped shaking as his sobs quieted down. "You-you know I'm sorry, right?" he whispered. I nodded. "You-I…you, you remember all those…things I said…" he trailed off and I winced. I knew what he was talking about, he didn't need to finish the sentence. "I-I never meant those things, sis. It's just…do you remember…Gwen and Olive?" I nodded, wondering what they had to do with anything. "They…I heard them talking one day. They said mom didn't love us, they said she was a…whore," that didn't surprise me, those two were just two stupid birdbrains. "they said…you weren't my sister." I stopped.

"W-what…?" I asked as I pulled back.

"They said you weren't my sister, Rosette. After I heard them say that…at first I didn't believe them, but then…then I went through those filing boxes in the closet. I found our files," he looked me straight in the eye, "they were right for once."

I didn't say anything. I couldn't say anything.

Those two…those two…those two _witches_ were the reason Joshua had left!? I regained speech. "You could've told me!"

"I-they said you were an heiress to a big fortune and the only one holding you back was me!" he yelled.

"I wouldn't have cared, Joshy! You're my brother!" I shouted.

"That's the thing though, Rosette, I'm _NOT_ your brother-!" his voice cracked just before he finished.

"You are! You little, stupid, _idiot_ you _are_ my brother! You may not have _all_ the same blood as me but I'm _still_ your sister! Your half-_sister_! But that doesn't even matter! We came from the same womb for gods sake! The same mother! And you remember our mother! And father! They _both_ loved us, mother _wasn't_ a _whore_ either! Let me tell you something, Joshy: People can be in love with more than one person! That's just life; life isn't black and white!" Now there were more than one too many eyes on us. I turned around, "What're you looking at!?" I yelled to the group of eyes we'd gathered. Their eyes were quickly averted.

"Anyways, back to the topic at hand: You idiot, you can't get rid of me that easily, you know? What made you come up with the idea to say all those things to me, too? I want to know what the hell you did, thought, and thought you were doing four years ago. You hear that, little brother, _everything_." I sat down to block his way out and turned to face him.

"Uh, well," he looked around, then continued, "after that, well…I knew I was the one holding you back. Do you know how easy it was to see how different you treated me from everyone else? It was _so_ obvious; you were always, _always_, so worried about me. I felt like I had been the one to make you grow up…" he kept talking and I listened to every single word. Well, this wasn't exactly the way I'd planned to talk to Joshua but it worked.

The way Joshua had felt—I didn't know he'd hated it that much, I didn't know he'd just wanted me to treat him the same as I treated the other boys. As I kept listening to Joshua a phrase popped into my head:

Kindness is the beginning of cruelty.

And it was. What I thought I showed Joshua was kindness; it was cruelty to him.

**--END CHAPTER EIGHTEEN--**

**A/N: Hmm...so what did you think? Confusing? I hope not, if it was TELL ME! Um, again, thanks to reviewers and readers and uh, yeah, REVIEW! Reviews help with writing and that makes writing easier which makes chapters posted quicker!**

**P.s. Oh, and the quote's by...um, I think his name was Frank Herbert, in case you wanted to know. **


	19. Chapter 19 Party Invites

**A/N: Okay, I'll save the talk for the end. On with it: Enjoy!**

(Chrono's POV)

"Uh…Azmaria?" I asked, confused to see her at my door. "Did you need something? I…thought you were going home today…"

"Oh! You _are_ home! Good!" she peeked behind me, "Um…can I come in?"

"…yeah, yeah." I step back to let here in. I closed the door behind her as she moved to sit in the chair next to the table. "So, did you need something?" I asked as I sat next to her.

"Oh, yeah. You know about the school party, right?" I nodded. "Well," she continued, "It's a co-ed party—so the girls from my school are coming, too. You're…coming, too…right?" she asked. I hesitated. I really hadn't planned to go to that party. Last year when I went, well…let's just say I'm not a party person. And, plus, Aion would probably be there—I wanted to avoid him as much as possible. I looked over at Azzy. She was moving around excitedly: probably about the party. I heaved in a tired breath and said, albeit reluctantly, "Yeah, of course."

Azmaria beamed. "'kay, make sure you make it there on time. Don't you dare come too late—oh! And Joshua's going to be there, too!" she blushed. I smiled. "Yeah, great." Fake excitement, I still do not like Joshua all that much—it probably has to do with the fact that when Rosette was here she—HE!—doted on him, or rather, just hung out with him a lot. It still irked at me.

"Right, I'll see you there!" she left in a rush of excitement.

Great. Now I had a party to attend. Just wonderful. I sighed. Too bad this party was casual wear and we were not supposed to wear our uniforms—it would've been easier that way. But, I guess, it's more fun for the other kids, seeing as we had to wear uniforms everyday. I trudged over to the drawer that held all my clothes—which was not a lot. In a matter of ten minutes I had gone through the whole drawer.

I picked out a pair of loose-fit dark blue jeans and over that I chose a black long-sleeved turtleneck. I moved to look through the closet on my side of the room and pulled out a dark rust-coloured coat with a high collar. Now—I looked around the room—the party would begin in…I looked at the clock on the table, it read: 5: 07 pm…so the party would begin in roughly four hours, at about eight. The reason the party was going to be held today and not tomorrow was because the kids that came here sometimes came from across the country—sometimes even from different countries—and would have to leave during the day just so they could make it home during the same day.

But, the bad thing was, the school didn't let students stay on campus during _winter_ break—something to do with "all students should spend the holiday season with their families and friends" or something of the like.

I looked at the clock again—it hadn't changed since the last time I looked, it still read 5: 07 pm. Well, I'd have quite a while before the party, but…I didn't want to be in the mad-dash to get in the shower. I got up. Might as well take a shower now to avoid the rush-hour that was sure to happen later. I scourged through my drawer again and pulled out a thread bare white towel. Hmm, I needed to go buy a new towel, I noted. I gathered my key, shampoo, scrubby, and soup. I took out the tie from my hair and stripped as I wrapped a towel around myself.

Time for a shower then.

* * *

(Azmaria's POV)

"Yes!" I hissed out loud as I pumped my hand into the air. The reason for my happiness at the moment is because I've just persuaded my cousin, Chrono, to come to the school organized party that was to take place tonight in the St. Magdalene Boys Catholic School Ballroom. A Ballroom! And the reason I'm so excited about that is because Rozet—

excuse me, I mean Rosette is going to be here. Of course I don't know if she's going to be at the party but if she isn't, well…Joshua and I will just find a way to persuade her to come, too!

I smiled, as I walked out the doors of dorm A. I started towards the school gate when I remembered that Rosette said she'd wanted to talk to me. I turned in the direction of Joshua's dorm building.

I pulled the handle of the door and was about to go in when I came face to face with a guy with long white hair. He smiled and I shivered. This guy was…somehow, for some reason, he…he scared me. I shrunk back a little. He spoke, "You. You're…Chrono's…cousin?" I nodded. He leaned down. "How…is he?" he smirked. "Does he still shrink away when you…touch him?" he leaned back and looked past me.

I turned around to see who was behind me. Rosette was jogging up the sidewalk. She slowed to a stop at the bottom of the stairs and narrowed her eyes as she saw who was behind me. The guy with white hair behind me walked past me as he glided down the stairs. My eyes turned to follow him. As he walked past Rosette he bumped his shoulder against hers causing her to stumble back a step before she regained ground and bumped him back as she walked up the stairs.

"Okay, we have to talk. Now." I nodded as Rosette grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me away.

She sighed as she sat down on the bench and looked out to the bay. "So, how've you guys been?" she asked.

"Hmm…" I answered, "If you're asking about Chrono—" I turned to see Rosette blush—"he's…" I hesitated, what should I say? what should I tell her? I changed the subject. "Hey, who was that guy?"

"Um, you mean the dude with the white hair?" I nodded.

"That…that's Aion Rennis—one of Magdalene Boys Catholic School richest and biggest benefactor. He's also…kind of creepy, if you ask me."

"Oh." I say. "He…" I wonder if I should tell her what he said. I should tell her just in case, it might not mean anything, but…just in case. I mean, after all, if anything _bad_ were to happen to Chrono Rosette had proven—more than once—that she was anything _but_ weak. "When he was stopped me at the door—before you arrived—he said something." I looked at her; she was still looking at the sea. I continued, "He asked how…Chrono was doing." I could feel her looking at me as I now looked down at my feet. "He…asked if Chrono still…shirked away…when he was touched."

"What?!" I heard her sharp gasp.

"And…" how was I going to say this? "I don't know how he knows but…Chrono…Chrono does that…"

"What?" she asked, "What does Chrono do, Azmaria?" she asked sharply.

"Well…he, Chrono, whenever I reach for him—like when I wave my hand in front of his face to get his attention or reach for something behind or in front of him—he, well, he," I stuttered as I tried to say what I feared and could not understand why, "he a-always shrinks a-away. He-he-I don't know why he does it and," I could feel the pricks of tears of fear at the back of my eyes. I turned to face Rosette. I sharply inhaled a breath as I said, "and I'm scared, Rosette—I'm really, really scared! He was never like this! I don't know why he's so scared—I can tell he's scared of something or someone, but I don't know why!" my eyes were shut tightly as tears escaped from under them and washed down my face.

With surprise I looked up to find I was being held soothingly in Rosette's arms. She was smoothing the back of my head as I hiccupped and sobbed. I…don't know why but…I felt so at ease here. "Shh… I'll find out what's going on…don't worry, Azzy."

I nodded as my sobs were quieted by her soothing words. "But," she continued, "I need to know what else has been going on around here. Damn," she scratched the back of her neck and I giggled, she acted so much like Chrono sometimes (well, except for the swearing, that is). She looked at me and smiled. "I bet a lot of things happened in the little time I was…gone."

"Yeah." I nodded as I pulled away and wiped at my eyes, "thanks."

"Hmm?" she asked. "For what?"

I blushed. "Chrono's strange behavior's scared me for a while now. I wanted to ask him what was wrong—I did once or twice, but…he would never tell me. He always said it was alright to cry, but…" I paused to think, "But…I…I didn't want to pry or be burdensome to him with all my nagging." I laughed.

"…" she didn't say anything in response as she continued to look intently out at the ocean bay.

"Yeah," she finally said, "…that idiot told me that once, too." I laughed, I felt a lot now that I'd spilled some of my feelings. "But," Rosette continued, "He never does what he says, does he?" I shook my head, I sad smile on my lips. Chrono didn't let _anyone_ see him cry. Yet, he still told us that.

Rosette stood up and stretched her arms as she continued to look out at sea. I watched as she turned back to look at me. "It's rather annoying, really." She said, I laughed—that's just what I was thinking. "Anyways, Azzy, don't worry," she fisted her hands and rest them on her waist, her voice strong as she said, "I'll find out _exactly_ what's been going on." She said it with such conviction I sighed in relief. Chrono wouldn't tell me what was wrong, but…maybe…he'll tell Rosette?

"Oh!" I said, I'd almost forgotten something in my relief, "Are you coming to the school party tonight?"

"School...party?" she echoed in question.

I nodded. "Yeah, it's a co-ed party and the girls from my school are coming, too, so of course I'll be there. But are _you_ coming? Joshua says he'll be there, too…" I paused and looked at Rosette's hesitant face and added, "…and so will Chrono—"

I was cut off abruptly as Rosette quickly said with anticipation, "I'm there!" I giggled. I thought that might get her to come. This was going great!

* * *

I looked at my watch. 7: 30 pm. Oh. My. God. Oh no, oh no, oh no, OH NO! I needed to get ready for the school party! And so did—"Rosette, you need to go get ready for the party! I need to, too!" I looked at my watch again, just to make sure I'd read it correctly. I had. "Oh my god! C'mon, we need to get ready!" I got up and pulled Rosette behind me.

She didn't even break a stride as she ran beside me. "Hey," she said a little ahead of me and running backwards, "You…you know I'm a…" she trailed off.

"Yeah," I said a little guiltily, like a child who'd been caught looking as his parents wrapped him his birthday present. "You're a girl. Joshua's sister."

She beamed. "Yeah." I almost tripped over my own feet. That wasn't the reaction I'd anticipated. "Joshua's sister." She continued. I hurried up to her; I knew why she'd smiled. She hadn't smiled at the fact that I'd said I knew she was a girl. She'd smiled because I'd said she was Joshua's sister.

* * *

(Joshua's POV)

I felt…to put it simply, I felt like a heavy burden had been lifted off my shoulders. I grinned again as I got ready for the school dance—party—well, whatever it was! I'd promised Azmaria that I'd go to the party. And Rosette—I'd finally been able to apologize and tell her my side of the story. I'm sure Azmaria's persuaded her into coming to the party as well.

I reached for the handle to turn off the water and twisted it. The water shut off, I was about to open the door when I heard voices—one particularly familiar—and stopped. They were saying something.

"So, what'd your father say about the company? Is he _still_ threatening you with _him_?" a gruff voice asked. I hissed in a sharp intake of breath as I realized who it was.

Genai.

Another voice answered, "Yeah, during Thanksgiving he said he'd hand over my company to that little son-of-a-bitch if I didn't stop seeing Rizelle…that little bastard should've never been born anyways. He has _no right_ to this company! I've had to be _good_ all my life—mind my _manners_—doing what _Father says_—doing what _Father wants_—just to get to where I am today! And in the matter of a few months he gets everything set at his feet if I don't break up with Rizelle. I can't _believe_ I was so happy to hear that I had a little brother!"

"Yeah, that was the…original reason we'd come here a year ago. You'd wanted to see him." Genai says blankly. There was a long pause before:

"I saw him today." said the other voice—the one that wasn't Genai's. Who were they talking about _now_?

"Who'd'ja see? Your little brother? We already saw him."

"Christopher Rozet." I stopped myself from taking another sharp breath as they were only a little ways off.

"Huh." Genai acknowledged before he switched the subject, "Speaking of that, I heard that Chrono, our _dear little punching bag,_ has been having nightmares of us."

"That so." The other voice responded.

"No, more specifically: You, Aion." Aion? Aion Rennis? What was going on? and what had Genai meant when he'd said "Chrono, our _dear little punching bag_"?

What was going on now? How were Rosette, Chrono, Aion, and Genai involved? I heard the water turn on. I quietly opened the door and stepped out, running as fast as I could for the door. I needed to get out. I needed to get changed_. I needed to find Rosette and ask her what was going on!_

**--END CHAPTER NINETEEN--**

**A/N: This was later than I'd intended to have it posted but...a lot of things went on this weekend and I stayed up practically _the whole time_ to make sure things got done, then on Monday I skipped out on school and slept the whole day away--and during this time this chapter was already almost finished; all that was left was Joshua's part (I bet that part changed some of your views on Aion, huh.) and that I finished early this morning but couldn't post 'cuz I had to catch the bus--I don't have a car, nor can I drive...yet, anyways. So that's why this was much delayed for those of yu who care. 'Kay, now for the important stuff: REVIEWS! Send me your REVIEWS! They're so nice to read, and they make me _want_ to write (I'm not saying I can post any faster at the moment but it's going to be summer soon nd hopefully then I can post more often if this story isn't done yet.) Okay, so, REVIEW! **

**p.s. And for you anonymous reviewers, I really appreaciate that you reviewed this story but if you want me to reply to you, you have to give me an e-mail address. Also thanks to you silent readers out there! (It'd be nice if you reviewed, but just knowing somebody's reading keeps the hopes up!) **


	20. Chapter 20 Party Scene: Part 1

**A/N: Okay, new chapter! Let's go straight to the story! Enjoy!**

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(Rosette's POV)

I stood in the darkened ballroom of the school. I had lost Azzy somehow. I looked around myself, or rather, the _millions_ of other kids surrounding me—never mind, I know _exactly_ how I lost her. Damn. I looked around again for a recognizable face. Azmaria was leading and she had said she needed to go and see Chrono—

—_flashback_—

"_Where's Joshua and Chrono. Didn't they say they were coming?" I asked as I looked around the entrance to the ballroom—we'd already showed our student IDs to the staff. _

"_Oh, yeah. We're supposed to meet them inside though, so…let's go inside and look for them!" she said excitedly as she went through the double doors and into the gigantic room that was already filled with kids. I followed after her_

—_end flashback—_

Where she saw them standing I don't know. If I did I wouldn't be here. Well, anyways, I was just following her when some other kid—a so-called "_friend"_—stopped me to talk, that's when I'd lost Azzy. As I looked around I caught sight of the "_friend"_ who'd stopped me, he was now talking to a group of his other friends. I sipped the drink that they'd handed me. Fruit Punch, or whatever.

I sighed. Great. The party was just beginning and I was already lost.

"Hey!" I heard nearby voice shout over the loud music. I turned in the direction of the voice…and bumped right into somebody's shoulder as they walked leisurely past me, the punch spilled over a little of my shirt. "Hey, wassup? Ya wanna dance?" I heard him say again to some girls behind me. No apolo—

Oh, no. I looked around worriedly as I wrapped my arms around my chest. The wrappings were coming undone, and to top it off my shirt was wet! Damn. Damn. And triple damn! I looked around and cautiously, but quickly, made my way to the outer edge of the room. I looked for the door leading to the hallway.

I almost walked right past the boy's bathroom and into the girl's bathroom but stopped myself before I could do it. I hurried into the one empty stall and stripped off my shirts, setting them haphazardly around the toilet. Slowly I unrolled the wrappings around my breast and rewrapped them again—

_**KNOCK**_

_**KNOCK**_

_**KNOCK**_

Shit.

"Somebody in there? Hurry the hell up, man! Other people have to use the bathroom, too, you know!"

Quickly I finished wrapping the bindings around myself. This time tightly, to make sure it didn't come off again.

I pulled the shirts back on and hightailed out of there.

Just as I walked back into the ballroom I saw Joshua looking around. "Hey, Joshua!" I shouted over the music as I started towards him. He turned around and a look of relief flashed over his face before he turned worried again.

"Rosette," he sighed, "we need to talk. I heard something." he said quickly. I nodded, he sounded seriously worried about something. "What's wrong, Joshy?" I asked.

"I heard Aion and Genai talking…" he trailed off. "Go on." I encouraged.

"I heard them talking about Chrono—they called him '_their little punching bag_'—and they were also talking about y—" We were interrupted as someone shouted, "Hey, Rozet!" I turned towards the voice. It was one of the many people who I'd seen at the weekend parties that I now knew Genai held. "O-oh, hey," I stuttered as a bunch of other party-goers gathered round.

"Hey…" one of them drawled out the word. I answered back. "Hey, what's up?" They pushed a cup of juice into my face and shoved it at my mouth. I took the glass from them and gulped it down glaring at them, "Happy?" I asked.

"Oh, well," the one who'd called me slowly drew out, "you know, right now...they're doing karaoke…and you have _such_ a beautiful voice…" Uh-oh. I looked worriedly over to Joshua who was fruitlessly trying to finish our conversation. "We'll talk later." I mouthed as the other guys grabbed me and started pushing and dragging me towards the front, chanting "SING! SING! SING!" over and over again. I sighed. How the hell did I get into this?

Before I knew it I was pushed on stage with a mike in hand. I didn't even know what the heck they'd wanted me to sing! I looked around; somehow Azzy had been pushed on stage, too. At least I'm not alone. Thank god for that, at least. I smiled at Azzy and was about to ask her if she knew what we were supposed to be doing but before I could the lights started to dim.

The lights dimmed even more as the quiet of the calm before the storm set in. I looked to the screen in the back of the room with the words of the song on it and prepared to sing. Soon the music began with a piano like sound and I sang.

"_**You come to me with scars on your wrist**_

_**You tell me this will be the last night feeling like this."**_

I stopped and looked to Azzy as she sung the next part:

"_**I just came to say goodbye**_

_**I didn't want you to see me cry, I'm fine."**_

"_**But I know it's a lie"**_

I sang the line into the microphone as I looked out into our audience. There, in the very back in one of the lighted areas, was Chrono. He hadn't noticed me yet.

"_**This is the last night you'll spend alone."**_

I continued as I looked straight at Chrono. He finally turned around and was looking at me. But…not just at me.

"_**Look me in the eyes so I know you know**_

_**I'm everywhere you want me to be.**_

_**The last night you'll spend alone,**_

_**I'll wrap you in my arms and I won't let go,**_

_**I'm everything you need me to be."**_

Chrono's eyes were flashing from me to something, or someone, across the room. I looked only at him.

"_**Your parents say everything is your fault**_

_**But they don't you like I know you, **_

_**They don't know you at all."**_

I broke my gaze with Chrono and looked over to see Azzy sing. She had a truly beautiful voice—not meant for this song, but still, beautiful. Me, on the other hand. Well, I knew I wasn't _great_ but…I guess it really isn't _that bad_ either. It was sufficient, you could say.

"_**I'm so sick of when they say**_

_**It's just a phase, you'll be okay**_

_**You're fine."**_

"_**But I know it's a lie."**_

I looked back to Chrono. He was still looking from me to the place across the room. He was biting his lip now.

"_**This is the last night you'll spend alone.**_

_**Look me in the eyes so I know you know**_

_**I'm everywhere you want me to be.**_

_**The last night you'll spend alone,**_

_**I'll wrap you in my arms and I won't let go,**_

_**I'm everything you need me to be.**_

_**The last night away from me."**_

I looked in the direction his gaze kept going to but couldn't see anything. It was too dark over there. I continued singing.

"_**The night is so long when everything's wrong,**_

_**If you give me your hand **_

_**I will help you hold on,**_

_**Tonight, **_

_**Tonight."**_

I looked in the direction Chrono kept looking one more time to see if I could find what he was looking at. Aion stepped away from the dark wall and more into the lit central area. Why was Chrono looking at Aion?

"_**This is the last night you'll spend alone.**_

_**Look me in the eyes so I know you know**_

_**I'm everywhere you want me to be.**_

_**The last night you'll spend alone,**_

_**I'll wrap you in my arms and I won't let go,**_

_**I'm everything you need me to be."**_

—"_Aion and Genai talking…they called him _"their little punching bag"—Joshua had said. —_"…asked if Chrono still shirked away when he was touched. I don't know how he knows…"_—that's what Azzy had said…and…I looked back in the direction of Chrono, at the moment his gaze was worriedly—and…_fearfully?_—on Aion Rennis. His cuts, they were on his left wrist. How could he have cut them like that? And…bruises. W-what was going on?! Aion and Genai weren't harassing Chrono, were they? If they were… I felt an evil smile grow on my face as I thought of all the things I would do to them if they were somehow hurting him, I quickly wiped away the smile before anyone noticed. I was going to find out for sure! …right after I finished with this song.

"_**I won't let you say goodbye,**_

_**I'll be your reason why.**_

_**The last night away from me, **_

_**Away from me." **_

I jumped off the front of the stage and into the cheering crowd as the music ended. I looked up from where I landed and in the direction where I'd last seen Chrono. Azmaria was still on stage; the crowd was pushing for her to sing an encore by herself. Fine by me. I had places I had to be anyway.

My throat felt dry and scratchy as I cleared it and neared Chrono. He didn't see me, he was still looking at Aion. My brows furrowed. I tried clearing my throat to get his attention. My mouth felt too dry. I sighed and walked towards the beverage table.

I looked from my filled cup to Chrono. I tipped it and finished it in a few gulps. More hydrated I walked over to Chrono with a refilled glass of punch—in case my throat got dry again. I set my drink on the counter behind us as I cornered Chrono.

I cleared my throat loudly.

"O-oh. Rosette—I mean, Christopher." He smiled nervously as he corrected himself.

"Chrono, I…I need to talk to you."

He fidgeted around a little, looking around me and biting his lip. I moved in closer. 'No where to go now, Chrono.' I thought to myself.

"O-okay." He finally answered.

"Good." I leaned in closer, I could see him blushing and I almost giggled, he was so cute. Almost. There were more pressing matters at the moment.

"Explain to me: how did you cut your left wrist when you're left handed and the last time I checked you weren't ambidextrous?" I asked.

He leaned away and looked down at his feet, "Well, uh, that is…" he knew whatever answer he gave would give something away. He knew it, whatever he said—be it truth or lie—would still tell me that something was extremely wrong.

"And, Chrono," I paused to look at him. He was still looking at his shoes, were they that interesting? I looked down just to check. They were…ordinary: white tennis shoes. He had no reason to be looking down. I felt him flinch as I grabbed his chin gently with the tips of my fingers and pushed his chin up, so I could see his face. I held his face in place between my finger and thumb as I bent and whispered, "Chrono, why would Aion ever have a reason to call you his "_little punching bag_"?"

His eyes widened as the words that I'd just said processed. "Wh-where did you…hear that?" he finished weakly as he tried to move further back.

"Oh," I continued to look innocently at him, "a little bird told me." I paused, "So it _is_ true, then."

He moved his hands up and fanned them from side to side as in a no-that's-_not_-true way. "Nothing-nothing's wrong. It's not tru—"

I cut him off. "What about all those bruises?"

"I was just clums—"

"So you _clumsily_ cut your wrist when you were so sick?"

"…no, that was…uh-um…"

"So who's doing it then." I asked in a whisper.

He looked up fearfully at me, his gaze flickering towards the direction where Aion had stood before, before landing on me. That was all I needed for an answer.

"Why is he doing it?" I hissed out, "Why is he hurting _you_?"

"I-I don't know." He said as he glanced up. "Rosette," he looked up again, a blush crossing his face, "Can you, um…move back…a little." I started in surprise. In my rage I hadn't noticed how close I had gotten to Chrono's face. A blush crossed my own face as I stepped back a couple steps and heard some girls behind me giggling.

"Uh, sorry." I said. I almost missed Genai as he walked past my back. He paused momentarily behind me and I was about to turn around and see what he wanted but when I turned around he was already gone.

I turned back to Chrono. "It's okay," I said as I heaved in a sigh, "I get why you wouldn't tell me…" I trailed off as I turned around. I grabbed the glass of punch and downed it before I ran off into the middle of the crowd.

Now, to find Aion.

…

I found Aion after my sixth glass of punch. He was now leaning lazily by the back doorway that faced the wall that separated the school from the many buildings, roads, and allies behind it. I marched up to him. As he saw me coming he straitened up.

"Did you want something?" he asked casually.

"Yeah," I answered, "a talk."

He started to move towards the other exit. "Right here is fine." I stated. He stopped.

I got straight to the point. "What are you doing to Chrono and why?" I asked.

He smiled widely. "You should know _what_ I'm doing to him if you're asking. As to why…" he paused as his smile grew wider.

"WHY." I said strongly.

"Oh," he looked at me, his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned back on the wall and crossed one leg over the other, "If you _really_ want to know _that_…then…come to the ally behind the school. In ten minutes. I'll be waiting for you under the third streetlight to the right." he said as he walked out the door.

I have no choice but to go if I want to know why Chrono was getting hurt—and what exactly it was that they were doing to him. Chrono would never tell me himself. I don't know why. I didn't trust him, so, maybe…

He doesn't trust me, either.

I wanted to trust in Chrono, though. I wanted him to be able to trust me, too.

**--END CHAPTER TWENTY--**

**A/N: The song was _The Last Night_ by Skillet. ANd if you didn't get it the writing that looked like this: _just bolded italics_ was Rosettte singing. The ones like this: _bolded UNDERLINED italics_ was Azmaria singing. She didn't have a big, BIG part in the singing but, well, it's a GUY'S voice here! And Rosette is _supposedly_ a GUY, remember! That's all! REVIEW if you liked (or disliked, whatever you want!)!**

**P.S. Sorry! I fixed something (Azzy's lines in the song.) but something's messed up. The words won't stay underlined! Again, sorry! (But, hey, I don't know how to fix that.)**


	21. Chapter 21 Party Scene: Part 2 Berserk

**A/N: Okay! Here's your new chapter: Chapter Twenty-One! t.t wow. and I thought this was going to be a short fic. Seems not, huh? Enjoy!**

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(Chrono's POV)

I looked around the tightly packed room and the students that surrounded me, dancing or just milling around talking—or trying to talk over the large amount of noise the crowd was making pushing for Azmaria to sing an encore. Finally I heard a cheer as she gave in, blushing red in the face at all the attention.

A hush fell over the room as she started singing the song I recognized as _Angel_ by Sarah McLachlan. People swayed slowly back and fourth, entranced by her voice. I couldn't blame them, her voice was truly beautiful. I paused a moment before continuing towards the drink table.

How did Rosette know about all that, anyways? Who'd told her and how come they knew? I blushed as I thought back to the—_extremely_—close proximity of our faces when she—he—was asking me all those things. I hope I hadn't given anything away. I _did not_ want to imagine what Rosette would do if she found all that stuff out—it would be disastrous indeed. Maybe I should have told Rosette…? No, that would only get her—him—hurt. Plus, I didn't know the reason as to why Aion was targeting me yet. He was using the threat of hurting Rosette as a hostage against me. Mother…she had taught me many things I could've used...

"Chrono, hey, Chrono!" I heard my name shouted as I just reached the table. I turned in the direction of the voice. Joshua. He was quickly walking towards me. I grabbed a glass and poured myself a drink as he walked over.

"Hey, Chrono, have you seen Rosette yet?" he asked as I was just about to drink the punch. I turned towards him as he spoke, but then looked away as I mumbled, "Yeah…I just talked with—"

"Then do you know where she went?" he asked hastily as he cut me off.

"Um…why?" I questioned. Where would Rosette have gone anyways? I thought she—he!—would be hanging out with Joshua and his buddies.

"I thought I just saw Rosette go out the back door, but when I went to look no one was there." He said then mumbled something that I almost didn't catch, "I thought I saw Aion head out that direction, too…" he then turned back towards me and said hastily, "Um, forget it then. If you see Rosette tell her we have to talk, though!" before rushing away.

I brought the drink up to my lip and was just about to take a sip when I took a sharp intake of breath in surprise. Joshua had said he thought he saw Aion heading out there before Rosette! What if he really did?! What if Rosette was out there, to—!

I stopped mid-thought and sniffed the drink. Surely I was mistaken. I sniffed again. Nope, that could only be one thing. I took a sip of the punch. I was right! That was _ALCOHOL_! Why was the punch spik—wait. Wait, _wait_, _**WAIT**_! Rosette had downed a whole _glass_ of this stuff, I'd seen her, not to mention she—he!—probably had more before—! I rushed towards the back door, trying to dodge the many students along the way.

What if Joshua _had_ been right and had seen Rosette heading out…but that didn't worry me as much as the fact that he said he thought he saw _Aion_ heading out there, too! I opened the back door and let it close swiftly behind me. I was just about to rush along the trail when I noticed the footprints in the snow. I had no better directions so I decided to follow them, the footprints. There were two sets of footprints, both lightly dusted in a fresh layer of the falling snow.

I was led to the metal gate of the brick wall that separated the school from the shops and allies behind it. The gate stood ajar and was swinging slightly in the light wind. Cautiously I approached the gate. I opened it and slipped onto the other side, not bothering to look back or close it behind me.



I heard distant grunts as I stood on the other side of the gate. I looked left and right. The sounds sounded like they were coming from the right. I walked slowly, cautiously, in that direction. Soon, though, my walk became a frantic run as worst case scenarios ran through my head. Suddenly the image of Rosette falling to the ground in a dark ally way flashed across my vision.

And it wasn't a dream. I stopped mid-step.

Rosette slowly got back up on her knees and was about to get on her feet when a foot swung and kicked her square in the jaw. As if in slow motion, she fell back onto the snow dusted concrete. Again she tried to get up. This time when she got onto her knees a hand snaked from behind her and gripped her chin tightly, swinging her face towards me.

"Look at who's come to watch the show, Christopher… Why, if it isn't sweet little _Chrono_." Aion murmured in baby-talk. I hadn't even noticed that he was here until this moment.

"Ch—Chrono!" She—he—gasped brokenly as she opened her tightly shut eyes. I stood frozen. What was I supposed to do? "Run…" she whispered just loud enough for me to hear. Run? But, what about her? What was she going to do?

Suddenly a four of laughing boys surrounded her. No…this was too much like my dream…how could this be happening…my mind trailed off as I caught sight of a smirking Genai. It-it couldn't be! I watched as they started to beat Rosette down. It was. This was all planned out to be like my nightmare. As I realized this my anger slowly built into a raging fire.

I walked brokenly towards the group. This was different though; I could stop this! My broken walk turned into a charge as I ran blindly at the one closest to me; I could stop this, right now, right here! I slammed my hand onto the nape of his neck and as he fell onto the ground with a gasp I moved onto the one beside him who had not yet noticed that his buddy had been knocked out.

I bent down onto my knees as I pulled Rosette's beaten body into my lap, unconscious bodies lying around us. "It—it's going to be okay…" I murmured to myself, not noticing that Rosette had come to. As I finally noticed, Rosette's eyes widened as she pushed me off her. I rolled to the side and slowly got to my feet. I heard a grunt behind me and then a sickeningly loud crunch as a whoosh of breath left the body behind me. I quickly turned to see what happened.

I thought that Rosette had pushed me away because she—he!—was angry with me or something. But—I watched as Rosette looked at me with wide open eyes. "Run!" she yelled as she got to her feet. One arm was wrapped around her body as the other swung wildly around her, trying to get anyone that she could. This was when I noticed that there were more people now, surrounding her than before. As before there were only four, now there were at least ten—if not more—including Aion and Genai.

She gasped as she continued to swing at them and miss—they laughed. She looked at me again, "I-I can take care of this!" she gasped out, "Don't worry, run!" as I continued to stand immobile she screamed, "I-I'll be right behind you!" I could see the blood slowly dripping from the corner of her mouth. She wiped it away as she continued to swing and kick and miss.

As she was trying to hit another she was tripped and fell to the ground in an audible grunt. It was their turn now. They pinned her hands to each side with their feet as they kicked at her. She grunted and I could hear cracking. Disgustingly, audible cracking sounds and the sound of flesh pounding flesh.

The white snow that fell around us and disappeared into the darkness slowly faded to red as my anger and adrenaline slowly built up. I got to my feet and kicked the guy closest to me behind the knees.



He grunted as he fell and my vision burned red as all else disappeared from my thought but the one about saving Rosette.

I could save Rosette this once, like she'd done for me a just a few moments ago.

I could save her.

**--END CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE--**

**A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know. Very short--only about three or so pages on Microsoft Word. But, hey, it got most of what I wanted covered. I hope you liked it! Tell me what you think: REVIEW! **

**P.S. oh, yeah, and thanks to all the nice reviewers out there!**


	22. Chapter 22 the Reason Why

**A/N: Hey, guys! Thanks to all who reveiwed and to all who read! Here's a new chapter for you! Hope you like it! Enoy!**

(Rosette's POV)

What…am I doing…here? Everywhere around me is black. My head was pounding. Where…_is_ here? I slowly opened my eyes and was met with the view of a white…ceiling? I…what…happened? I remember coming to in the ally with Chrono hovering over me. Then there was somebody behind him with a raised…pipe? I'd pushed Chrono out of the way—if I hadn't the back of his head would've met "nicely" with that pipe. After that…I'd gotten up, fought back, and yelled at Chrono to run. How did they get me in the first place? And-and-!

My gods, I gasped, "Ch-Chrono!" where was Chrono?! I don't recall what happened after I'd fallen to the ground and they'd started kicking at me! My eyes blinked furiously as I shot up from where I lay; my head instantly feeling dizzy as I bent over feeling nauseas. Where was Chrono?! What had happened to him!? Oh, god!

There was a rustling, then I felt a hand against my back. I drew sharply away from the unknown contact and doubled over, breathing hard as I felt nauseas again.

"R-Rosette?" a soft feminine voice asked.

I looked up, my face flushed from the hard task of breathing, "Oh, A-Azzy…" I said in relief.

"Yeah," she said as she sat in the chair next to my bed.

"What-what happened?" I asked after a moment, "Where's Chrono?

"I remember…yelling at him to leave…" I recalled as I looked at her. She looked down and whispered softly, "Yeah, I know…"

I looked at her, what did she mean 'she knows'? "I saw you guys," she answered slowly, "after I'd finished singing I came to find Joshua, and Chrono, and you. But, when I found Joshua and asked him about you two he said he'd thought he'd seen you go out the back door and towards the ally door, but, he wasn't sure.

"Then we looked around the room for you two, and we still couldn't find either of you. That's when we went to check outside. Out there I noticed footprints—several pairs—leading towards the back entrance. I was really worried, Rosette, and when I showed Joshua he was even _more_ worried. We followed the footprints and then we were at the gates and they were wide open—as if someone had just pushed them open, and carelessly left them that way." she was looking down at her folded hands, as she continued her lips began to tremble, "when we were standing out in the ally we were about to turn left when, from the right, we heard a short cry.

"Joshua and I, we started running then. When we got there," she paused as she finally looked up at me, I could see her visibly shaking now, "we saw Chrono."

I don't…get it. Of course I knew Chrono was there.

"He," she continued as she looked at me, "he was beating off those guys that were around you. At first when I saw him there and heard the pained cries I thought…I thought I was seeing wrong and he was about to fall any second…but, it was Chrono. He beat up those guys that were surrounding you and we were so…I don't know, we just stood there frozen because we didn't know what to do. He was like…a berserker. But, when he beat off the last guy he suddenly fell to his knees in the middle of the circle of…bodies. Of course, we didn't know that you were there, but, then we saw him pull you into his lap and he suddenly...just slumped over you like that. I was so scared, I didn't know what had happened and I gave Joshua my cell-phone to call 911 as I rushed over to see what had happened to you guys."



She looked up at me and suddenly grabbed my hands as big tears appeared in her eyes, "I-I'm so glad you're okay." she said between sobs. I slowly pulled her head against my chest as I soothed her cries, "It's alright, Azzy. I'm fine. We're fine."

She continued between her quiet sobs, "I know," she said, "but-but even in the ambulance Chrono wouldn't let go of you," At this she looked up smiling as I blushed, "they had to practically pry you from his arms."

I wiped away her remaining tears as I asked, "Where is he anyway?"

She pointed a thumb behind her. And for the first time I noticed the curtain spread there. That must have been the rustling. "He's asleep." She said.

"Oh," I said as I looked down at Azzy's face. She had dark bags under her eyes and her long hair was not exactly very neat. She was in her high school uniform, too. "How long have you been here, Azmaria?"

She smiled warily up at me, "Um…four days?"

I know my eyes must have popped from my head, "Fo-_four_ _days_?" I asked again.

She nodded, "You two have been out for…about a week now. Joshua was here more; I just got him to go to the other room to sleep a little while ago."

I nodded. "And," I asked hesitantly, "Chrono's…still out?"

She nodded again, "Yeah, but you two have been coming in and out of conscience this whole time. I don't suppose you remember, huh."

"No." I simply replied, "Hey, Azzy…"

She looked up at me questioningly.

I smiled, "Why don't you go sleep for a little while, too. You don't seem to have gotten very much of it."

She smiled again up at me and nodded, "Okay, just for a little while though. I'll be right back. Oh, and I'll be right in the next room if you need anything." She said as she got up and walked out, closing the door firmly behind her.

I waited as I heard her footsteps slowly become distant. I swung my legs cautiously over the side of the hospital bed that I lay in and pulled off the tubes that were connected to my arms. Wary of the floor and my clumsy movement I walked towards the curtain and slid it quietly open, closing it quietly behind me as well.

The window was open and light fell gently onto his face. I looked at the clock hanging on the white walls: 10: 33. Outside I saw a tree branch that passed by the edge of the window dusted with snow, a little winter bird suddenly landed and started chirping. A slight breeze shook the tree branch. I moved to sit in the chair next to his bed.

I pulled the chair out and almost tripped over myself. I pulled the covers of his blankets up to his chin as I held onto his hand that was laid out over the blanket. His dark hair was splayed messily with knots around his bruised and abused face; I looked down at the hand I held and up the arm. They also held bruises; some, I could see, must have been older than a week; and there were cuts, not only on his wrist, but also his arms. As I looked closer I noticed not only did he have cuts and bruises, but burns as well.

What Aion had said flashed through my head:

"_You came." He said knowingly._

_I nodded. He hadn't doubted for a second that I wouldn't show._

"_Why?" I asked bluntly._

_He twirled a strand of long pale hair around his finger, "Because," –he looked at me in the dark between the two streetlamps—"of. You." He whispered the last word with glee I could clearly see dancing in his violet eyes. I stood frozen as he continued._

_He looked me straight in the eyes as he said with a smile dancing on his thin lips, "It was…_so_ fun. To hear him whimper and beg as I,"— he looked at his hands as he stretched them in front of him—"cut into his wrists…his arms…or kicked his guts." –he looked at me with a wicked grin—"Do you know how burning flesh smells?" _

_Before I knew what I had done, I had him pinned under me, my knee pushing against his airway as his hair splayed out around his head in a deceiving halo—this guy was no angel. "What did you say?" I asked through gritted teeth as I fought to control the suddenly boiling blood rushing through me. I wanted to do more than punch his lights out._

_He continued as cockily as if he wasn't helplessly laid under me with his airway constricted, "It was so easy to get the little son-of-a-bitch to submit—all I had to do was utter one name." I lifted my leg slightly as I leaned in to hear his next spoken words, "Christopher Rozet." _

_I couldn't move, I was so surprised by his words. He used the chance to get out from under me and I fell to my knees. "All I had to so was threaten to…_hurt_ you a little and he would stop fighting." I looked up, helplessly lost. Chrono didn't know me—he didn't care about me like that…did he? Aion swiped at the front of his shirt, as if to clean off some invisible speck of dirt. "You really don't get it, do you?"_

_I finally was able to get my body under control again, "G-get what?" I whispered hoarsely._

"'_Get what'?" he repeated questioningly as he looked down from his shirt cleaning with a smile, "Why, how far he went for you. You really don't get it, do you? I _used_ you to 'reel' him in, you could say," he smirked, "Do you want to know what I did?" –he didn't wait for me to answer—"All I did was point you out to him. It was so easy to see how infatuated he was with you. I'm surprised you didn't see that; it was clear to me within the first week that he was…_interested_ in you…but, of course, you _were_ always hanging out with Joshua…and Genai, weren't you?" I gaped at his words. _

"_I-no-you-you're—" I tried denying—both his thoughts of Chrono's 'interest' in me and the fact that I had spent those first few weeks with Joshua._

_He interrupted me again, "Do you want to know something even better?" he asked with a small smile starting on his lips again; I stayed were I was as he said, "Every time he was unconscious or hurt too badly to think clearly he would always whimper one word," –he paused dramatically as my breath hitched in my throat—"_Rosette."

_I think my breathing must have completely stopped. _

So…this was my entire fault. I laid my forehead on my hands that enclosed Chronos' as my eyes slid shut. Maybe…maybe if I hadn't been so selfish and not so short-tempered…maybe if I hadn't left…maybe I could've saved him some pain…?

"I…I'm sorry." I mumbled to the unconscious boy beneath me, "I'm sorry I left…" I squeezed my eyes shut tightly; I wouldn't cry. _I would not_. My mind flashed back to how the rest of the night had gone:

_I rushed at him, Aion; my anger having boiled over. My breathing was coming in short white puffs in front of me. It seemed that there was more than one reason for my breathing troubles. The bandages clung tightly to my chest, constricting my every breath._

_I swung my fist just short of his face. As I looked back up I vision blurred and I blinked to clear it, again I swung at Aion. He dodged my fist again. I blinked rapidly as I looked at him—I was having double vision. My breathing…it was getting harder to breath and…and—what _was this?_—the edge of vision was turning darker. Fading into a spotlight trained on Aion and Aion alone. I suddenly fell, heaving in breaths._

_I felt my hurting cheek as I slowly tried to stand again. Out of nowhere, it seemed, I'd gotten punched. It wasn't out of nowhere, I noted as I got back on my feet. They—two other guys—had come from beside and behind me. I could feel as the ground around me swirled—or was that me? I was swaying from side to side, my breaths coming harder; I couldn't fix the dumb bandages right now! There was no time. _

_Something else bothered me. _Just_ having _very_ tight bandages would bet me out of breath, but…why was I seeing double vision—and why did I feel so…_nauseas_. I put a hand up to my mouth as another wave of nausea hit. As soon as it passed I put a hand up to my mouth and breathed onto it. I could faintly smell it._

"_Alcohol." I whispered as my gaze slowly moved back up to look at Aion in question._

"_That's right." he said, "That's alcohol."_

_How—how? I…I don't remember drinking even _one_ glass of _any_ alcoholic beverage; I'd drunk maybe four or five glasses of punch but nothin—!_

_I looked at Aion with realization. It must've been spiked. The punch._

_He smirked, "You got it." I felt a sudden pain as my head was struck with something. I fell, as if in slow motion, to the ground. I'd fallen for his trap. They began kicking at me._

After that, everything was…vague. I can't remember _exactly_ what happened—just that Chrono had somehow showed up there…

_I slowly got onto my feet. I didn't make it—even before I was halfway up I was kicked down again. I could feel the bruises already forming. Pain. It was everywhere, the pain. _

_I tried getting up again—there was _no way_ in hell I was giving up without a fight. I only got to my knees when my chin was grasped tightly from behind. "Look at who's come to watch the show, Christopher… Why, if it isn't sweet little _Chrono_." My eyes snapped open. I hadn't even noticed that they were shut before. _

"_C-Chrono!" I gasped out his name before told him in a whisper I wasn't sure if he would hear, "Run…" He needed to run. He shouldn't be here. He was supposed to be safe—safe at the party, safe with Azmaria and Joshua—SAFE! Not here! I would rather he be anywhere but here. _

_I suddenly heard laughing. Laughing? How odd at a time like this. I wanted to laugh along—forget this pain. Chrono was suddenly blocked off from my view as four guys stepped around and encircled me. I fell unconscious as my pain slowly numbed into a dull throb. A final thought entered my head: Was this how Chrono felt every time he was beat up, every time he was hurt?_

I clutched Chrono's hand tightly and looked out the window again. The little winter bird had flown away and there was no breeze anymore. The snow dusted tree stood silent as death by itself. It seemed like the whole world had just stopped. The world seems to have…disappeared somewhere. And…even though I hold Chrono's hand tightly in my own, I feel alone again, for some strange reason.

I bent my head and leaned my forehead against our clasped hands again as I feel into thought…

_As I came to Chrono hovered over me, "—going to be okay…" I heard him murmur quietly. As I looked up I noticed a shadow hung over him. My eyes widened as I saw what it was. I pushed Chrono away and was slammed hard in the gut, near my lower ribs, with a plastic pipe. The air rushed out of me as I gasped. This _did not_ help my already difficult breathing and I could feel some broken bones. If I didn't have any broken bones before, I definitely had some now. _

_As fast as I could—which was not really very fast at all, probably—I got up on my feet. "Run!" I screamed at Chrono as I did so. I wrapped an arm around my hurting ribs and with the other I swung wildly at the people around me. I don't know if it was my double vision or something, but, there seemed to be more guys now. The four from before had multiplied to…maybe…about twenty, or more. Aion and Genai were among the group. _

_I gasped, still trying to hit one of the many people closing me in. They leered and laughed at my seemingly useless antics. "I-I can take care of this! Don't worry, run!" I yelled between gasps as I noticed Chrono still stood not far away. I could feel blood slowly drip from out of the corner of my mouth as I screamed, "I-I'll be right behind you!" I quickly swiped at the dripping blood that I was suddenly annoyed about. _

_I swung a fist at one of the closer guys and tried to kick at another, somehow along the way I was tripped from behind. I fell to the ground, my head meeting with the hard, snow wet concrete. I let out a grunt as I fell. I was about to get up onto my feet again when my arms were pinned. I looked up and I could see their faces as the hovered high above me. I had fallen. _

_They kicked continuously; I could feel as my bones broke, as my skin bruised. It was too much. The world turned black._

I don't know what happened after that, how I got here, why and how Chrono gained all these new bruises to his other ones. Just what Azzy told me happened. Where—how—why—! I took a deep breath, I didn't understand: where did Chrono learn to fight? How did he know how to fight? And _why_, if he knew how to fight, did he not fight back?! That was the most infuriating question of all. _Why didn't Chrono fight back, the idiot!_ If he knew how to fight back he should've.

The most infuriating part was that I knew why he probably hadn't fought back: because of me.

I've caused yet more pain. I hate, _hate_ being the cause of _Chrono's_ pain, especially.

How had I fallen so far…why couldn't I save us both before Chrono had gotten hurt…

It was my own foolishness that caused my downfall wasn't it? That wasn't even a question. I already knew it was because of my own foolishness—my carelessness. I laughed scornfully down into the blankets. If I hadn't been so careless when I was fixing the bandages—speaking of which, I noticed were no longer on me—and had done it right I wouldn't have had any trouble breathing and such. If I had been more aware of the things around me I would've noticed the alcohol in the punch. I hadn't been careful, though.

I laughed again into the blankets below me, my laughter somehow cracking and I almost broke down into sobs. I was relieved; relieved that Chrono was okay, relieved that nothing had happened to him, relieved that Joshua hadn't gotten hurt, that Azmaria hadn't gotten hurt…

"Rosette…?" I heard softly questioned as a tear slipped down my cheek. No matter how I try to hold back, at least one always manages to escape, it seems. I lifted my hand and quickly wiped at the wet stain on my face, anticipation building in my gut.

"C-Chrono?" I asked as I sat back up, I couldn't help it anymore, it was like a dam had broken and the tears flood my face. "C-Chrono, you-you _stupid_ idiot!" I said brokenly through the tears, a small smile on my lips, "I told you to r-run, why 

didn't y-you run? And-and Azzy said you could fight! Why, you idiot, if you could fight—why-why didn't you ever fight back before?! Why didn't you ever defend yourself?!"

He opened his mouth to answer, but before he could get a word in we were interrupted, "Miss Rosette Harvenheit, we've found you. It's time to go."

—**END CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO—**

**A/N: See? This one was _purposly_ longer than the one before! XD (--that meant: I'm sorry it took so long.) Heheh so, yeah, no excuses. Oh, and be nice, REVIEW!**


	23. Chapter 23 Breaking Free

**A/N: Be happy XD I hope you like this chapter; thanks to all the Reviewers and Readers out there! ENJOY!**

**p.s. DISCLAIMER: I haven't put this up in a while, but, hey, I still don't own it, okay? And I never will so...yeah.**

* * *

(Chrono's POV)

"Miss Rosette Harvenheit, we've found you. It's time to go." Two men grasped each of her—his?—arms and spun her around as they lifted her off the ground. I was just about to answer Rosette's questions when they'd moved aside the curtains with a flourish and caught each of her arms. By the shocked look on Rosette's face she must not have noticed.

I pushed up from the bed I lay in —where was I, anyway?—and quickly fell back when I was hit with a wave of dizziness. I heard the retreating footsteps and got up quickly, almost falling out of the high bed. "W-wait!" I shouted hoarsely as I ran after them, stumbling along the way.

"Wait!" I yelled again as I held a hand outstretched, running and stumbling after the solid looking men who were dragging a kicking Rosette along. What the heck was going on _now_? We'd hardly just come out of a scuffle and here we were in another one.

I stopped, with my hands pressed against knees as I bent over heaving. Suddenly I heard a short cry of pain. I got back up and started running again, good thing there weren't so many people around. I turned the corner and found Rosette fighting off the man that was still holding her one arm; the others had backed up a little. I heard footsteps far down the hall, from the room I'd come from. As she pushed down the man hard she glanced up and noticed me. Her eyes sparked. Uh-oh.

I stopped in my tracks, right behind the remaining three that were blocking me from her. She reached through the gap between the men and grabbed onto my wrists, pulling me through the mess and towards her. An arm snaked around my neck and I was pulled against her chest—! W-what!?

I blushed, frozen stock still. I felt two…rounded, uh, lumps?—I blushed redder, if possible—pressed against my back.

"Don't come any closer." She said, addressing the men around us, "If you do, I'll snap this kids' neck; and believe me, I know how." Her arm tightened around my neck. I could practically taste the tension, it was so thick. I heard a gasp from behind the men and looked.

There stood Azmaria, surprise written all over her face at the words that the blonde behind me had just uttered. I think I am just as surprised as she is, if not more so.

I stumbled backwards as I was slowly pulled back as Rosette retreated down the hall. She leaned down just barely and whispered quietly to me. "Don't worry. I won't do anything to you, I swear. Um," she paused sounding uncertain, "I-I'll leave you in the lobby downstairs, okay? Sorry for doing all this to you, Chrono."

She pulled me into the elevator and pressed the down button. As the doors closed I could just see the men that had grabbed Rosette turn the corner into this hallway. I could feel Rosette relax behind me, which reminded me—"You're a girl?!" I blurted out as I turned around to face her, then turned redder than a ripe tomato as I looked down at the elevator floor.

One arm still around, her other hand slid up and she rubbed the back of her neck as a nervous laugh left her lips. "Um, yeah? You found out, huh?"—I blushed again. I don't know how my blushes can overlap each other like this, but, by now I'm pretty sure it looks like all the blood's rushed to my head.—"I-I was going to tell you," she continued; I could hear the faint guilt in her voice, "I was going to tell you when you woke up, I swear. But…but then..." she trailed off. Then those men had come. I finished in my head

She was now looking down at the ground as her foot dug repeatedly into the elevator floor. An awkward silence fell over the room. I coughed. "Who," I started, "Who were those men anyway—"

**DING**

I was interrupted as the doors to the elevator opened and the glass paned doors to the front entrance of the building were revealed. Her arm tightened around my neck again and she hurriedly pulled me out.

Instead of heading straight towards the front doors like I'd thought she would, her arm fell to my waist as she pulled me to the side, away from the doors. She stopped in front of a coach in front of a window and pushed me gently into the plush seating. "The front desk is over there,"—she pointed at a place next to the elevator we'd just come from—"Go over there and ask them where your room is, they'll take you back to your room, okay?" she offered a small smile as she got up and stalked towards the door, not waiting for my reply.

When she'd gotten to the glass doors I finally realized what was going on. Quickly I got up, running for the doors. Just as I was about to reach her I heard the slam of a door as multiple feet quickly pounded over the linoleum flooring. I ran the rest of the length towards her as the doors closed behind her back and she started jogging across the snow banked parking lot.

"W-wait!" I panted, close behind her. She turned around and stopped mid-step, almost stumbling forward as she saw me right behind her. "What—Chrono?" She breathed out in surprise, "Chrono, why are you following me? What are you doing our here? Get your butt back in the hospital, you just woke up!" She said worriedly.

"I-I'm coming with you." I stated simply, puffs of white air coming out as I panted. I rubbed at my arms as I felt goose bumps rise from the cold. She looked at me, then at herself and let out a laugh as she grabbed hold of my hand and started pulling me along. We were running in light blue knee-length hospital gowns and bare feet. I laughed alongside her as we ran.

Suddenly she looked behind us and stopped laughing, picking up the pace. "C'mon, Chrono, we gotta get out of here fast, before they catch up to us." I grasped her hand tightly.

"Yeah." that's when it hit me: how were we going to escape? We had no cloths, no money, no car, no transportation. Abruptly, Rosette stopped and pulled me behind a car. I turned around to see how close they were to us. Thankfully, they were just outside the door. They stood there looking in all directions for signs of us. I smiled, they hadn't spotted us yet, at least.

I heard tinkering sounds behind me. What was that? I swear my eyes fell out of my head as I saw what Rosette was doing. She had the door open and was down under the steering wheel pulling at wires! She was planning to _hijack_ this car! "R-Rosette!" I hissed in disbelief.

She turned around from her work for a moment to glance over her shoulder at me, then she turned back, a devious smile on her lips. "Yes?"

"You—you're not planning to—are you?!" I asked.

"No, we're not gonna hijack this car," I sigh of relief left my lips, "we're just gonna…_borrow_ it for a bit. I promise, we'll return it—with interest!" I spoke too soon.

She turned around, "Done!" she grabbed my hand and pushed me into the seat—was she expecting me to drive!? "M-move over…" she said. Oh, thank God. I quickly scooted over to the passenger seat, securely putting my seatbelt on.

The door slammed shut. Oh, wait. I turned to look at Rosette afraid to ask the question. "Do you know how to drive?"



She smiled brilliantly, "Of course. I got my license before coming to Magdalene." I sighed in relief as she revved up the engine.

Again, I'd spoken too soon. Rosette was driving down the freeway like a madman, going at speeds I'd rather not know. My hands clung tightly to the dashboard as we continued on. How had Rosette possibly passed her driving test?!

"Damn!" she suddenly yelled, making me jump in my seat.

"W-what? What is it?" I asked.

She looked in the rearview mirror. "They're after us." She said through gritted teeth. I looked in the mirror. Surely, there it was: a slick black car fallowing not too far behind us.

"How do you know that's them?" I asked; I still didn't even know who "them" was.

"Look at the license plate." She said. I looked. **Hexen dur Juwel** was printed there. "Hexen…der…Juwel?" I asked.

"Yeah," she answered, "It's German for Jewel Witch, and only one person would have that many letters on their license plate anyway."

Then she stepped on the gas, revving up the engine, and we were shooting down the road, going from side to side faster than I thought was possible. By now my knuckles were clinging so tightly on to the dashboard that they were turning white.

"R-Rosette…!" I shouted with my eyes tightly shut and my teeth gritted, "R-Rosette, slow down! You're going too fast…!"

"Deal with it, Chrono. We just have to get them off our tail, then I'll slow down. I promise, 'kay?" she replied as she turned to look at me then quickly back towards the road. Suddenly she swerved onto an exit.

"W-what are we doing now?" I asked.

"Told ya," she said, "getting them off our tail. Oh," she paused; I turned to look at her, "and we need to get food—" her stomach growled, she blushed—"I'm hungry. And…" I looked at her intently, still clinging onto the dashboard for dear life.

"And," she continued. She looked at me, "we need to see Azzy and Joshy again—"

"Great!" I said all too soon.

"—they can take you back to the hospital and give me my wallet and cash." My face fell.

"What…?"

She looked nervously at me, as if looking at a child she knew was about to have a tantrum, "You-you heard me, Chrono."

"B-But-but-" I stuttered for a reply.

"Chrono," she sighed as she looked directly at the road, her speed still surpassing what I'd like it to be, "Just…please…" she looked at me pleadingly, "Please…just go back with Azzy and Joshua to the hospital. I…" she paused as she looked again at me—I couldn't read the expression on her face. "I…this is _my_ problem. I don't want to get you anymore involved. I…I just don't want you to get hurt again, okay? Like you did when I was gone…don't…argue with me…on this, okay…?" her voice cracked and I looked over at her. She was biting her bottom lip roughly.



She turned in my direction, but instead of looking at me, she looked in the mirror. "We lost them." She whispered. Her speed amazingly decreased—though, only to what it had been before, which was—in my opinion—still too fast. I wished she'd drive slower…so that I could stay here longer, with her.

Soon we'd driven into a town. It was a little town with only one main street and houses and schools branching out around it. Rosette's driving had slowed to the minimum speed with my constant begging. She drove up into a parking lot filled with only a few cars and stopped the car beside the sidewalk. She opened the door on her side and got out. I hesitated. I…I just wanted to stay a little longer with her.

She came around to my side and pulled the door open for me. "C'mon, Chrono, let's enjoy ourselves a little, okay?" she smiled brightly as she leaned down with her hand extended out for me to take. Seeing her smile I couldn't help it, I smiled back. "Okay." I said as I got out to join her.

"Good," she said as she pulled me out and closed the door behind me, "Now, just wait a sec. I want to check and see if there are any…better clothes in here." she opened the back door and ducked into the car again. I looked around us. This place was really pretty. Today was, according to the poster on a billboard, the twenty-second of December. Two days till Christmas.

Everything around us—shops and stores, cafés and restaurants—were all decorated and readily, happily, waiting for the holiday. Tinsel and holly spiraled around the streetlamps, holly and mistletoe hung over doorways, little colored stockings hung in windows, as in other shop windows little snow covered villages and towns sat as trains passed under and over fake mountains and bridges, children wrapped in scarves and donned in hats and coats laughed as they passed us by, their cheeks rosy and their laughter innocently happy as they stared around at the shop windows wondering what their parents would get them as they excitedly talked amongst themselves.

I stared at all this and sadly smiled. This reminded me of better days when I was so innocent. And…days with Mother…

"_Mother, Mother!" I shouted happily as she picked me up from school._

_She smiled happily down at me, "What is it, Chrono?" _

_I smiled happily into her shoulder as I clung tightly onto her, "What does Mother want for Christmas? I'll get Mother anything!"_

_She laughed, "Is that so?" _

_Exuberantly, I nodded. _

"WAH—What?" I asked as I looked dazedly down at my hand—which was now intertwined with Rosette's. I blushed and looked around me. She had thrown an oversized coat over my shoulders, buttoning up the first two buttons under the collar. My hand was being tugged away and as I looked up I could see that Rosette was walking around a snow bank and towards the sidewalk, pulling me along with her.

I looked at our clasped hands again. "R-Rosette…?" I questioned.

"Hmm?" she said, not turning or stopping.

"Why…our hands…" I trailed off with the blush growing hotter on my cheeks.

"Oh," she said, "that. Um," she was biting her lip again, I could see, "You just…your smile just…looked so…sad was all."

"Oh." My…smile…looked…sad…?



She tugged my hand again. "C'mon, Chrono, let's enjoy ourselves a little. Look," she pulled some change out from her pocket, "I found some change in the car. We can call Azzy and Joshy, then when they get here I'll treat you to something sweet. You like sweets, don't you?" she looked horrified for a moment and I couldn't help but laugh.

Drawing in a deep breath I suppressed the laughter for a moment to say, "Yes, I like sweets, Rosette." she smiled and I couldn't hold it in any longer I laughed out loud again as I clung onto her shoulder for support. Soon she was laughing with me.

The bottom of our blue hospital gowns could just be seen under the light knee-length brown coats we had on. She tightened her hand on mine as we ran across the cobblestone street and into a diner. She walked up to the front counter, a charming smile on her face as she looked at the waitress behind the counter. Her coat was buttoned almost all the way up; only three of the bottom buttons and two of the top buttons were unbuttoned, under which I could see her collar bone.

"Hi, how can I help you?" the waitress said as she looked dreamily at Rosette, I gave a soft, "Ahem" from behind Rosette and the girl turned to look at me as did Rosette. The waitress looked at me for a moment, shyly hiding behind Rosette, looking down and said, "CUTE!" she rushed around the counter and jumped me, "You're so cute! Do you want some candy canes, sweetie?"

"Ahem." Rosette coughed from above us. I looked up, from the barely concealed smile on her face I knew she was trying not to laugh and that caused my already bright red blush to grow hotter. The waitress stopped as she turned around a silly grin on her face, "Sorry, she was just so adorably cute!"

"Rosette…" I whined as I heard her snicker as she turned away.

She turned back around, her smile still barely concealed behind that calm façade of hers. She bent down a little ways and pulled down the bottom of my coat. My hand was up over my cheeks trying to cover my blush. She bent back up and pulled my arms away, holding them once more.

"Um, yes," and her charming smile was on again, "Is there a phone we could use around here?" she asked.

The waitress blushed, but grinned widely at me, as Rosette pulled me around to the front and wrapped her arms around me, resting her chin on top of my head. She nodded as she pointed to the far side. "Yeah, next to the bathrooms, there are some payphones."

Rosette thanked her and grinned as she pulled me away.

**CLINK**

**CLINK**

**CLINK**

I could hear the sounds the coins made as they dropped down into the machine; Rosette had the phone held to her ear.

"Hello? Is there an Azmaria Hendric there?" She paused, "Um, yes, please put her on the line—tell her it's Christopher."

She paused for a longer period of time now, "Azzy? Yeah, it's me. We're fine, don't worry. Wait, I need you to do something for me. Yeah. Can you get a ride? Good. We're in…" she turned to look at me, "Psst, Chrono, where are we?" she asked.



"Uh," I said as I tried to recall what the name of this town was, "I think this place is called Ivory." I answered. She smiled and nodded her thanks.

"Chrono says we're in a town called Ivory, we shouldn't be too far from there. How long do you think it'll take you to get here?" at this point she turned away from me, "Azzy, I need you to get here as fast as possible, 'kay? And you don't need to bring Joshy with." Her voice returned to its normal volume, "Yeah, okay. Hurry up, alright? See you."

She hung up, looked at me, then smacked her head with the back of her hand, "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry, Chrono, did you want to talk with her?" I shook my head; I had nothing to say anyway.

"You sure?" she asked again.

"Yeah," I answer, "You said all that needed to be said anyway."

"Okay, let's go have some fun while we're waiting then." She grabbed hold of my hand again and started swinging it as she marched past the front counter shouting another thanks to the waitress as we left.

We received many odd stares as we walked down the street, our clasped hands swinging, and us laughing every once in a while at nothing in particular. Once we caught our reflections in a window and laughed at how ridiculous we looked dressing like this in this cold weather.

We were huffing out puffy white breaths as we came around again to the spot where the parking lot was—and where the car was. Two hours had gone by since we'd come here and three since we ran from the hospital. What an eventful day today has been so far.

Rosette stood next to me, grinning like crazy as she looked at me. She quickly let go of my hand and went towards the snow bank. Curious, I followed after her.

Suddenly she turned around and before I knew it I was hit smack-dab in the middle the face with a snow ball that crumpled to little bits as it met with my face, pieces of it slowly dripping down my face from my body heat.

"You're gonna get it now." I threatened as I wiped off the snow from my face. I turned around and for a snow ball with my ungloved hands. I turned around, about to through it at Rosette when I was hit, once again, in the face with a snowball. "Ah!" I yelled as I threw the ball, wiping off my face in process. I could hear Rosette's teasing laughter as she easily dodged my weakly thrown ball of snow.

I bent down to quickly make another one and threw it. She was too busy laughing to notice the ball heading right towards her face.

**SMACK**

My turn to laugh, and, man, did I laugh. I was bent over with my hands pressed against my knees I was laughing so hard, I could feel little tears form in my eyes, too.

In the background I could hear Rosette say, "Chrooooono, why, you little—"

And then I was laughing on my back in the snow, "Sorry, sorry…" I burst into another fit of laughter.

"Chrono…" I heard her call sweetly. Surprised and curious I suppressed my laughter and looked up at her with gleeful eyes, "Yea—"



I pile of cold, fluffy snow landed on my face. Rosette was laughing again. I quickly wiped it of and switched our positions, flipping her onto her back as I straddled her waist. I grabbed a pile of snow and was just about to dump it on her when, "Are we interrupting something…maybe?" a timid voice asked from behind us.

I dropped the pile of snow and turned my face slowly around. "Azzy." I said. Then from behind me I heard spitting noises. I turned to look back quickly, Rosette was leaning up on her elbows and spitting out the snow that had gotten in her mouth, "Hey, Azzy," then she turned to look at me, giving me a light glare, "Chrono, I'm so going to get you back for that…" She trailed off as she looked me up and down and blushed, "Get off me!" she hissed as her blush grew darker. I looked myself up and down and realized our position—and our dress wear—and blushed, quickly getting off of her.

"Uh, uh…yeah, hey, A-Azzy…" I stuttered, "Did-did you come alone?"

That was when I noticed the snickering behind Azzy's blushing face. Joshua was there, his hand covering his mouth as he tried, not very well, to hide his laughter. "Joshua." Rosette said threateningly from behind me. She grabbed my hand with one hand and as she walked pass Joshua she bonked him on the head, an embarrassed or angry look on her face. I couldn't really tell which.

"C'mon, let's go over here." She said as she directed us down the street. I smiled deviously as I walked behind her. She turned around to look at us, me in particular. I put on a sweet angelic smile for her. Heh, heh. She looked at me oddly before turning around, "You're going back, don't argue."

Azzy quickly caught up to us as a still snickering Joshua ran after us. When he was next to me he leaned close to my ear and whispered in a singsong voice, "_Chrono and Rosette sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G—_" I elbowed him as a blush crept up towards my ears, turning them bright red.

**--END CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE--**

**A/N: Heh, heh. I haven't written this much in Chrono's POV in a while; I hope it was alright. Yep, this is a happier chapter I hope! I _was _going to finish this and put it up on _Wednesday _but then my English not only gave us a test next week to study for , but an _ESSAY and a JOURNAL _that had to be turned in _Thursday! _And he'd assigned them BOTH on _Wednesday, _too! Anyways, REVIEW! Tell me if you loved it, hated it, or just don't care to see me write anymore! **


	24. Chapter 24 No Argument

**A/N: Hey, guys. Here's chapter 24. Thanks for all the kind reviews and I hope you like. ENJOY.**

(Rosette's POV)

"Ahhhh…" I sighed as I leaned back after taking a sip of the rich hot chocolate. A croissant and some sweet buns laid next to the cup of hot chocolate. Azmaria was happily munching on a cookie with her tea and Joshua was staring dreamily at her, the cookie held in his hands almost missing his mouth. I snickered.

Then there was Chrono. We—Chrono and I—were now changed into more casual clothes. He sat across the table from me. In front of him was a cup of water. _WATER_! And he _would not_ eat anything, either! Well, he didn't say he wouldn't eat anything, he just hadn't ordered anything which meant that he wasn't eating anything and _that_ annoyed me. I took a bite of the croissant. It was so delicious! "Chrono, Chrono!" I called to get his attention. He turned abruptly from looking at his glass of water to looking at me.

He looked nervously at me, "Y-yes?" he asked.

I leaned across the little table, shoving the croissant into his mouth, "Try it, try it! It's delicious isn't it!" I asked, a grin on my face as I noticed a blush cross his cheeks. He bit down on it, chewed, and swallowed and said, "Y-Yes, Rosette, it's very good." His face tilted down again as I noticed the blush crawl down his neck, his hair hiding his face—which I was sure was also red. I sniggered at him, then raised my arm up calling for a waitress.

I smiled brightly, "Can I get another cup of hot chocolate and…" I paused, how many more should I get, "six more croissants. Oh, and can you put an extra amount of whipped cream and some cinnamon on the hot chocolate?"

She looked at me like she was saying "for real? You can eat all that?" I blushed. It wasn't all for _me_, damn it! I mean I like it and all but—geez! "That's all." I grounded out.

A few minutes later the ordered food appeared. The hot chocolate looked especially appetizing. I grabbed the warm mug, careful not to spill, and traded its place with Chrono's glass of water.

"H-Huh? What…are you doing, Rosette?" he asked as I slid the glass away from him, then he looked back to the mug of hot chocolate sitting in front of him.

I put a plate of two croissants next to his hot chocolate. "You said it was good, right? Well, then, _eat something _already; you're gonna make me feel guilty for not feeding you!" He laughed.

"Alright, alright. I wasn't trying to guilt you though…I…was just thinking about some stuff…" he trailed off as he looked away. Hmm…stuff, huh.

"Well, anyways, _eat_. It's my treat, remember?" I asked. He nodded as he grinned and grabbed a croissant, biting into it.

I watched as he ate, forgetting about my own food until he looked at me questioningly and asked, "Aren't you going to eat, too?"

"Oh…OH! Yeah, yeah." I said as I woke from my dazed state and grabbed a croissant, shoving it into my mouth. I gave Azzy and Joshua a croissant, too. I heard Joshua snickering as I chewed on the treat in my mouth. I glared at him and looked pointedly at Azmaria, then quirked a brow up as a smirk flashed across my face. His snickering came to a stuttering stop and I grinned at him triumphantly. Ha, take that!

"Rosette…?" Chrono asked. I turned abruptly to him as my grin of triumph changed into a sweet smile, "Yeah?" I asked.

He looked down again, with another blush crossing his face. I grinned again, Chrono was so adorable when he was blushing! "Your hot chocolate's going to get cold if you don't drink it." he said timidly as a hand moved up unconsciously 

to brush away the bangs on the side of his face. His hair was still messily falling down his back. It was slightly damp, too, from playing in the snow earlier.

I took a sip of my hot chocolate as I stared at him. I was doing that too much, I know, but…I just couldn't help it! "A-AH! Ouch!" I dropped the mug of hot chocolate from my hands. The drink had just burned my mouth! Seriously, seriously, too much looking at Chrono is dangerous to one's health!

"Are-are you okay?!" he asked worriedly as he reached across the table with a napkin.

"I…I'm…" I was going to say I was fine but I was a little paralyzed at the moment. Chrono was leaning across the table and wiping the corners of my mouth with the napkin, "Rosette…? Are you alright?" he asked again, as he continued to wipe at my lips.

"Uh…" I said when he had once again seated himself, "I…I'm fine. Really." Azzy and Joshua were looking at us. Azzy was smiling as Joshua coughed trying hard to hide his sniggering—he failed. I glared at him, daring him to say a word to Chrono. "Azmaria…did you know, Joshua—" I was cut off abruptly as Joshua threw his balled up jacket at me. I caught it just before it would've landed on my face

"Don't believe her, Azmaria. She's lying." He smiled and I smirked as I saw the sweat dripping down the back of his neck and on his forehead.

"Anyways, Chrono," I said as I threw the balled up jacket back to Joshua, "Do you like your hot chocolate?"

He nodded, a smile on his lips, "Yeah, it's been a while since I've had hot chocolate…" his voice trailed off as a look of nostalgia appeared on his face. What was he thinking about? Maybe about his past? I could only wonder.

Wait. Wait, WAIT, _WAIT_!

"Ch-Chrono!" I sputtered out as I remembered. "You—!" He looked at me questioningly, "Uh…what?"

"YOU! Where did you learn to fight, you dummy!? And you never told me why you wouldn't fight before now either! SPILL!" I finished.

"Oh, yeah, uh, that," he was rubbing the back of his neck as his cheeks dusted with pink, "I-I don't…really…remember what happened…that night… And, um, about where I learned to fight; I learned when I was really young. My…" he looked distant for minute before he finished, "…my mother…made my take karate classes. She said she wanted me to be strong, so that…um, when she was gone, she'd know I was alright without her…"

What…happened to his mother? I didn't want to ask because of the pained expression on his face. Chrono suddenly laughed and I looked at him, "I thought I'd forgotten all that. Hey," he looked at Azzy, "Azmaria, are you sure it was _me_ you saw fighting all those guys?"

She nodded slowly, "You don't recall what happened?" she asked back.

He shook his head, "No, not really. I-I just remember up till…" he paused to think, "When you fell down, Rosette, and they started kicking you…I…remember getting up…and walking towards you…then…then…!" I could see the frustration on his face as he tried to recall what had happened that night. "It's okay, Chrono. Don't worry about it." I said as soothingly as I could.

He stopped and looked at me, "Really?" he asked. I nodded, "Really. It's alright, okay?"

"Okay." He murmured quietly.

…

I looked at the bill and reached into my wallet for the sum of cash and a tip for the service, leaving it on the table as we got up and left. Azzy looked at me again. "Really, Azzy, it's alright; it's my treat." I grinned at her.

We were standing in front of the car that was to take Azmaria, Joshua, and Chrono back when Azzy reached into her purse and pulled out a cell phone.

"Here," she said, handing it to me, "for the one I broke."

I looked at her questioningly. "What one you broke?" I asked.

She smiled timidly. "The one you had when we first met."

"But you didn't—"

"But it was because of me that it was broken." She put the phone into my jacket pocket. "So take it. And," she added, "This way we can stay in contact, too, okay?"

Thanking her I took the phone. I turned away and started back towards the car that I'd hijack—I mean, the car that I'd _borrowed_.

"W-Wait! Where are you going?!" I heard Azmaria shout as I got to the car, then there was suddenly the sound of pounding feet behind me as I heard a car door slam open. I turned around as I was going to sit in the driver seat of the car.

Chrono was already running around the front of the car and getting into the passenger side of the car. I blinked with wide eyes at him. What…was he doing? I voiced my thoughts. "C-Chrono? What…do you think you're doing?" I asked bewilderedly.

He grinned deviously—defiantly. "Well, going with you, of course. What does it look like?"

I shook my head. "No. No, we already talked about this, Chrono." I walked around the car and opened the passenger side door. "You are _not_ going with me; you are going back to the hospital to recuperate. No arguments, remember?"

He smiled. "And I didn't argue, did I?" I smacked my forehead with the palm of my hand. Geez, Chrono. Where was a hard brick wall when you needed one?

"Now, c'mon, Rosette, let's go." He urged.

"Chrono," I whined. What else what I was supposed to say to him?

He looked at me seriously. "C'mon, let me go with you. Please? Can't you trust me…Rosette?" He looked away, "I…just…want to protect…you, that's all." He looked over at me, a sheepish grin spread across his face, "Pretty dumb, huh?" he snorted a little laughter. "I'm acting so childish, aren't I…" he trailed off as he looked past me. When his eyes strayed back to mine he got up and stood before me as he exhaled a breath of defeat. "It's okay if you really don't want me to come, Rosette. I'll understand…" he trailed off again.

Was it…really…okay to take him with me? After everything, hadn't he had enough? Wasn't he tired of me? Didn't he…hate me? I looked over at Azmaria as she peered at us from beside the car door. I pushed Chrono back into the car. "We'll contact you soon, Azzy!" I shouted as I shut the passenger side door.

I ran back around and got in. I started the car.

Staring out the windshield as we drove away I mumbled quietly, "We…have a lot to discuss."

I was answered with silence. I looked to the side to see what Chrono was doing. His head was tilted to the side as a little drool slipped from his mouth, his chest puffed slowly as his relaxed breaths could be heard in the car. I smiled. Chrono was fast asleep. Well, today _had_ been quite an eventful day.

I pulled over to the side of the road and grabbed a folded quilt that had been left in here by the owner of the car. I unfolded it and wrapped it gently around Chrono's relaxed form.

Today had been an eventful day so far—but things were going to get a _whole_ lot more interesting. My eyebrow twitched nervously, especially with "_Mother_." I can just _imagine_ how much _fun_ that'd be. I wonder, what is she going think of Chrono? The thought brought a smile to my lips. "Mother" _loved_ cute things…and I would be lying if I said Chrono wasn't cute…

**--END CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR--**

**A/N: Sorry if I sound a little odd. After school ended I just totally crashed so, yeah, that's why I didn't put this up sooner--that and my internet didn't work very well, it kinda worked for a while then just suddenly died. Oh, and sorry; I know it's pretty short but I hope you guys liked this chapter anyway; really, I do. Please REVIEW! **


	25. Chapter 25 Fiancé

**A/N: Yeah, I'm going to say it: my internet whatever officially SUCKS! And it should go to hell if there is a hell! Good, now that that's out of my system...Here's your next chapter! XD Enjoy! **

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(Chrono's POV)

Groggily, I opened my eyes. When had I fallen asleep? I couldn't recall. I blinked away the sleep in my eyes. It seemed I'm losing my memory about everything, I thought ironically. I turned my head to see Rosette staring intently out the windshield. I looked out as well. Right into the oncoming barrage of snowflakes falling from the sky. So that was why we were driving slower than before.

Rosette turned to look at me, a smile lit her face. "You're awake." She said.

"Yeah. Where are we, anyways?" I asked as I looked around at the barren fields of snow around us.

"Um," She bit her lip, "Somewhere in the country…we should be coming into a town with an airport pretty soon. I stopped at a rural gas station about a few miles back and asked."

I stopped to digest the information. So…we were…somewhere in the country of New York State…? That didn't help a lot. Another question struck me.

"Hey, Rosette?"

She turned to face me before quickly turning to look back out the windshield at the oncoming snow. "Hmm?"

"Um," I was kind of embarrassed to be asking this, but, "Where are we going?" I questioned, a blush growing on my face. I'd made such a deal of coming with her and yet I didn't even know where we were going. Well, to me it didn't really matter, as long as we were together. Right?

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the head rest. How had I grown so attached to Rosette, anyway?

"I have to talk to my…mother, I guess you could say."

A long silence enveloped the space between us after that. Finally Rosette coughed, breaking the silence. "Hey, Chrono?" she asked as she continued to drive slowly, her voice soft and quiet, "How…can you trust me like you do…when you know I've lied to you all this time?"

That definitely wasn't what I'd expected. Truly? I didn't know either.

…

We drove into the full parking lot of the city parking lot. The snow was still falling, even here. It was starting to pile.

Rosette got out of the drivers' seat and came around. I opened the door and got out, too. She turned around to face me. Even though it was only about late afternoon it already looked pretty dark. She crouched down in front of me and I looked down quizzically to see what she was doing.

Rosette was pulling on the zipper of the coat I had on. She pulled the zipper up as she wrapped the scarf she'd had on earlier around my neck. Confusedly, I looked at her.

As she turned around I noticed her light coat was unbuttoned, too. I put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. She stopped at turned around. "Chrono?" she asked as I moved forward to button her coat. As I looked up I noticed her cheeks were dusted in pink; from the cold or from embarrassment, I didn't know.

…



"I'm sorry, sir, but all the flights have been cancelled. The snow's getting pretty bad and I'm afraid it's only getting worse." The woman behind the counter said.

"Well, when's the first available flight out then?" Rosette asked irately.

"Um," the woman looked nervously down at the computer as she typed, "W-well, it'd probably be some time tomorrow…but there are a lot of other people who have flights, too, so…" she trailed off as she looked nervously from Rosette to me.

"Can I get two tickets to Chicago for tomorrow then?"

The woman looked at the computer again. "W-well, yes. But the seats are s-separate." Rosette looked at her to continue. "U-um, one's in business class a-and the other is in, uh, in s-second class. So, uh…" I felt kind of bad for that lady—she was under attack full force from Rosette's impatience and irritation. It was no wonder she was stuttering so bad. Well, I guess she wasn't very good with angry costumers—no one would be good with an angry Rosette. I smiled a little at the thought. I couldn't help it; it was an amusing thought after all.

I tugged on Rosette's sleeve. "It's alright, Rosette. Don't get so angry," in a whisper I told her, "You're scaring the woman behind the counter witless."

She looked at me and then at the woman. A sound of agitation escaped her throat as she scratched the back of her neck. "Fine." She grumbled. Then she turned to the woman, "Sorry for sounding so angry, miss. It's just that we really need to get somewhere."

The woman offered a small accepting smile and nodded.

"So, um, about what you said. Is there any way we can get seats together?" Rosette asked.

"I-I'm sorry, but no, there are no more empty seats that are together." The woman said quietly.

Rosette looked hard at me then turned around. "Fine, can you tell me who the person sitting next to the empty seat in business class is?"

The woman nodded, albeit unsurely.

…

"AHhh." Rosette let out an exasperated sigh as she fell back on the bed.

It seemed everything was a little short today—with the holidays being just days away and such—so we, Rosette and I, were staying in a bed-and-breakfast place. All the hotels and motels around here were filled with the other people who also had delayed flights. This place was pretty full, too. I blushed at the antic Rosette used to get us into this place…

"_Is there any rooms available here?" Rosette asked._

"_For both of you?" the elderly woman asked as she looked back at me then turned back towards Rosette. _

"_Yes. Um, we would like a room, please. Everywhere else around here is full and, well…" Rosette trailed off._

"_Oh, we do have a room, but…" she trailed off as she looked unsurely from Rosette to me. _

"_Please," Rosette begged, "My fiancé and I really need a place to stay, just for tonight." I blanched as Rosette wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me against her. Fi-fiancé? Is that what I just heard Rosette say? _F-fiancé?!

"_See, I was going to take her to see my parents today, but…well, all the flights are canceled and…" Rosette trailed off again as she looked at me, "I'm sorry we weren't able to make it today, honey. I'm-I'm sure my parents won't mind. We'll just tell them that the flights were cancelled, okay?" _

_Blushing I nodded._

"_Oh, is that so?" the elderly woman cooed sympathetically, "It's okay then," as she looked at me she smiled and patted my head, "Really, we still have one room. I just hope your parents don't mind that you're staying together in a room…" the woman smiled knowingly as she winked at me. _

_I blushed. Rosette said, "Don't worry, ma'am," she pulled me closer against her as I felt her chin fall to rest on top of my head, "We won't do anything naughty." I could just hear Rosette's grin in her voice. And, if possible, I blushed redder than before. As I turned to try and bury my bury face in the hollow of Rosette's neck I could feel her amused laughter and snickering rise from her chest and fall from her lips._

"Did you really have to say all that to the woman?" I whined, not for the first time.

She grinned as she looked at me. "Of course. What else was I supposed to say, my dear little fiancé?" she teased. I blushed again. And I could hear her laughter. Before I realized it she was standing in front of me, my face resting in her palms.

"R-Rosette?" I questioned.

She didn't answer, she just looked at me. I don't know how long we were like that but then Rosette turned away and let go. She threw a towel over her back towards me. "Here. Go take a bath, we're going to have to get up early tomorrow." I could hear her groan at the last part. I smiled. Rosette never was a morning person.

I got up and headed towards the attached bathroom.

…

I was standing in the PJs that the bed-and-breakfast gave us to use as I stared out the window at the falling snow. It was still snowing out.

I heard a door open quietly as I turned around to go sit to the bed. Rosette had said she was going to take a shower. My eyes landed on Rosette as she walked out of the steaming bathroom.

"You're done already?" I asked.

She nodded, "It was only a shower and compared to how long I took to take a shower at school, it was pretty long." Rosette also had on a pair of the PJs. The difference was that mine had a pastel pink background and darker pink lines checkered across it while Rosette's were simply white with pastel blue lines going up and down. Her lips pulled up into a grin as she observed my clothing. "I like your PJs, Chrono. They look very good on you…cute."

I blushed. "Th-they're not mine." I mumbled out.

"Come here, Chrono."

"W-what…?" I questioned as I looked at her beckoning fingers.

"C'mon. C'mere for a sec." I did as she bid and walked over towards her.



I big, white, fluffy towel was thrown over my head. "You dummy," she started, "You're gonna catch a cold if you don't dry your hair…"

An "oh" was all I managed. I hadn't noticed that my hair was still dripping wet. As Rosette lifted the towel off my head I noticed that my hair had indeed been dripping onto the light coloured floor where I had been standing by the window.

"Geez," I heard Rosette mumble, "You'd think that someone with hair as long as yours would know how to do this."

"S-sorry…" I mumbled. I looked up at her. She was smiling to herself. I don't think she even noticed that I was looking at her.

"Dummy," she replied, "I'm not really angry, okay?" I gave her a little nod.

"Good." She finished with toweling my hair dry. I felt her palms against my back as she pushed me gently towards the bed. I looked back at her questioningly. She held up a brush.

"When you were in the bath I asked the woman if I could borrow a brush for you. I left it right there," she pointed to the top of the dresser, "I thought you would get your hair all taken care of, but, apparently," she grinned teasingly, "you want me to do it."

I blush. "Th-that's not it." I stuttered. "I-I just didn't see it, and-and—"

I was cut off as Rosette pouted and said, "So you don't want me to do your hair?"

"W-wait!" I said quickly. "That's not what I meant. I meant-I meant—"

She grinned down at me. "Take a deep breath." I did as she said. "I'm just kidding," she continued, "Don't get so worked up, okay?" She was still grinning down at me. I nodded slowly

"Oh!" she suddenly exclaimed, I looked around. "You've grown taller, Chrono!"

I looked her up and down, then I looked at myself. "Have I?" I asked.

She nodded slowly. "Either that or I'm shrinking," she laughed. "You're almost as tall as me now. Look you're up to my nose now, before I left you were only up to my chin." Huh, did she look that closely before?

I sat down on the edge of the bed. Rosette got up next to me and moved to kneel behind me. Slowly, she started running the brush through my hair, brushing out all the knots.

She had been brushing my hair for a while now, the knots were mostly all gone, when she asked, "Hey, Chrono, I'm serious. How can you just trust me? Then come along with me, not even knowing where the hell I might take you or make you do? "

How can I trust her? Well, I just can. That was all. "Faith?" I offered up.

"What?" she questioned.

"Faith." I repeated.

"In me?" she sounded disbelieving.

"Who else?" I asked.

I could feel as she turned her face away as she murmured, "Don't you think you might've misplaced your faith, Chrono?"



Misplaced? "No." I answered simply. I don't think I've misplaced my faith at all.

"Aren't you disappointed?" she suddenly asked.

"That you're a girl?" I questioned. "No, I'd much prefer you were a girl." I turned around to face her, taking the brush from her hand I turned her around and started brushing her hair.

"Did you know," I started. "I thought I was nuts—or just gay—for a while." I won't tell her why. I could hear her chuckle. I smiled, that was the response I'd wanted.

"S-seriously, Chrono?" she asked through her snickers.

"Seriously." I answered.

She sighed. "But that's not what I was talking about," she said. "I meant…aren't you disappointed in me; that I lied to you and stuff?"

"Speaking of which," I replied. "You never did tell me why you were cross-dressing and disguising yourself as a boy and who those men that had chased us out of the hospital were and why they were chasing us, too."

"Oh." She said flatly. I could see her body tense up. "That." she turned around and I paused in my hair brushing, "Do you really want to know?" she asked tiredly.

I nodded.

"I disguised myself as a boy because Magdalene Catholic High School is a private boys' school, and no girls are allowed in there other than the nuns that teach." I looked at her, I already knew all that. "Yeah," she turned to look at me. "You probably knew all that."

With an exasperated sigh she flopped back onto the bed. As she curled onto her side she patted the spot beside her; I followed suit and curled onto my side next to her. "Anyways," she continued as she tucked an arm under her head for a pillow, "the reason that I'd wanted to come there was because I was…looking for somebody. My brother." She looked at me. "Joshua."

I couldn't help the little "oh" that left my lips. Now that was a big revelation to me. Joshua was her brother. It was a relief, too, I'll admit. I'd thought that he was her boyfriend or something…

"And, well, I couldn't tell you anything," she was looking kind of fidgety now, "Because I-I wasn't sure if I could really trust anybody." she looked at me then, looking ashamed, she flopped back onto her back. I scooted closer to her. "It's okay. Go on."

She turned to quickly look at me before saying, "And, well, yeah. That's it. What about you?" she asked as she turned back to face me with a burning gaze. "You never fought back once, did you, not until that party. Tell me: Why didn't you ever just beat the hell out of them or just run away, Chrono? Why did you let them do this to you?" She had grabbed onto my wrist and had pulled up the long sleeve of the pajamas, exposing the wounds that I hadn't wanted to show her. As I looked at her I noticed that her eyes were glassy as they looked at my arms. I didn't know what to say.

I didn't want to tell her why. She would say it was her fault.

"I-I…" I trailed off without giving an answer.



"Aion told me," she stated coolly, "And I don't know if I should believe what that scumbag said but he told me that…that it was because of me. Aion told me that it wasn't his fault you were hurt." She looked me in the eyes, "It's mine isn't it." there wasn't even a question in her tone.

"N-No," I tried to excuse the words, "You-you're wrong. It _wasn't_ your fault! I-it wasn't!" I was now kneeling on the bed looking down at her as I shook my head exuberantly from side to side and waved my hands around.

She didn't answer me as she got up and turned away as she mumbled, "Sorry." For what? I wanted to ask. I didn't.

She turned back around, a grin on her face. I could see it was forced. "Go to sleep, Chrono." And she turned on the lamp beside the bed, turning off the ceiling light. She walked back towards me and pulled the blanket up to my chin, as if I were a child. She turned off the bedside lamp, too.

She stood and started back across the room. "Wait." I whispered. She stopped, not turning around she cocked her head questioningly. "Where are you going?" I asked.

"Nowhere." She answered as she opened the doors and stepped out into the, now dark, hallway.

I looked around the moon bathed room. Everything was washed in a sliver-blue light. The room darkened again as clouds moved to cover the moon. I couldn't help but notice that Rosette had avoided answering one of my questions. Who were those men? And what did they want from us…from Rosette?

**--END CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE--**

**A/N: Yeah, so...how was that? Hopefully not too bad for taking so long... I promise--I _PROMISE--_I'll update quicker; like maybe Wednesday, or sooner. Okay, so...um...yeah, Review, okay? Oh, and maybe I'll put TWO chapters up next time because I took so long. Maybe.**


	26. Chapter 26 Seats

**A/N: Yeah, so MisoGirl asked why people think Chrono's a girl; I'll explain here, so that if anyone else is wondering they'll know, too: It's because he's dressed in Azmaria's clothes. I didn't realize I'd confused you guys, but it's written in a future chapter, so... Oh, and as promised: TWO chapters! XD Enjoy!**

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(Rosette's POV)

I heard a pattering of feet behind me, in the dark hallway. I turned the corner and stayed flat to the wall, instinct getting the better of me.

Suddenly a flourish of dark hair passed by me in checkered clothing. "Chrono?" I asked in astonishment, stepping out from around the corner. The body stopped. Turned around, and started towards me.

"R-Rosette?" I heard whispered. Yep. It was Chrono.

"What are you doing?" I asked quickly. "I told you to go to sleep. Why are you out here and were you just following me?"

He trudged closer, unsure of his footing in this darkness. "R-Rosette?" he asked again.

"Yeah," I answered, "It's me. Now, are you going to tell me why you're not in bed and asleep like I asked you to be?"

"O-oh." He said. Chrono was right in front of me now, his form silhouetted by the window behind him letting in the pale light of the full moon. The snow was falling just a little lighter now. Clouds moved to cover the moon and we were enveloped in darkness again.

I felt two soft palms as they caressed my cheeks. "C-Chrono?" I asked, questioningly.

What was going on? I was starting to wonder if I would get any answers at all.

"Rosette," he exhaled my name. I could feel his breath as it brushed against my lips. My head was bent and I was leaning my forehead on his.

"What?" I whispered back, equally as quiet.

"You didn't leave." He replied.

I chuckled as I brought my hands up to intertwine behind his neck. I pushed my forehead against his. "Of course not. I said I wasn't going anywhere, didn't I?" I murmured.

My lips brushed the tip of his nose lightly and pulled away. My hand slid down to grab hold of his and as the moon came out from behind the clouds I pulled him back towards our room in the pale silver glow of the moonlight that washed through the falling snow.

If he was going to have such a phobia of me leaving, I guess I would have to stay. I was just going to go outside to…cool off a little.

As we got back into the room I headed towards the closet and pulled out a thick quilt. I headed towards the plush sofa as I shooed Chrono towards the bed. When he was about to lie down he must have noticed that I wasn't behind him because he turned around and started searching the room.

"I'm over here." I called with a chuckle. Really, he could be so childish sometimes.

He started towards me. "Why are you over there?" He asked.

"Go to bed, Chrono." I said, blushing. Well, no duh, I'm a girl. It would be weird if I slept in the same bed as a guy. And no matter how much like a girl Chrono looked, he was still a guy. It would be weird.



There was silence as the room was enveloped in darkness again. And when the moon came out Chrono was beside me. I was so surprised I'm sure I must've had a heart attack, died, and somehow come back to life. "Geez, Chrono! Do you have to scare the living daylights out of me like that?!" I yelled.

I could see his apologetic smile in the pale light of the moon. "Why don't you sleep on the bed, I'll sleep over here. I'm still a guy after all; I do have my pride to think about." Okaaay, out of all the things I'd thought I would hear him say, _that_ definitely wasn't one of them. I grinned awkwardly up at him.

"No, go to sleep, Chrono. I'm fine here."

He looked skeptical.

"Really." I assured again.

He was still looking at me like that.

With a huff I got up and headed towards the bed. "Fine. Don't come whining to me in the morning about a bad night of sleep or whatever." I grumbled in defeat. I could sense his smile. I turned around and glared at him. "Shut up." I ground out with a blush flaring across my cheeks. Why I was blushing, I don't know. And knowing that only made my blush hotter. Thank God it was dark in here.

…

I blinked and looked up. It was still dark. What had woken me? I'm not a very light sleeper… I heard a groan—as if in pain—and bolted upright. _That_ was what had woken me up. I heard more groans and mumbled words. I could here the rustle of sheets, as if someone were tossing around.

I got up and shuffled towards the sofa. "Chrono…?" I called softly, attentively, as I reached out a hand to touch his shoulder. "Chrono?" I called again.

He still would not wake. I grabbed onto his shoulder and shook him gently. "Hey, Chrono, wake up." I tried again. He twitched as he shirked away from my hand and kept tossing around, wrapping the quilt tighter around himself as he moaned in pain. I couldn't make out any words from his mumbled sentences. He had tears starting at the edge of his eyes now, though, and his arms were flailing around a little.

"Chrono!" I finally yelled. His eyes shot open and a hand made its way hesitantly up to my face.

"R-Rosette?" He asked as his fingers felt around my face.

"Who else?" I murmured from between his fingers.

"Oh, Rosette…" his arms were suddenly wrapped around my neck as he pulled me down against him. "It's you. It's just you…thank god…you're okay…" he mumbled in a whisper to my ear.

By this point I'm sure I was redder than a ripe tomato. What was I suppose to do?

Unsurely I kneeled down before him. Slowly, I brought my hands up and started smoothing down his hair. "Yeah, it's me." I mumbled into his hair. My face was pressed right against his neck and I could smell the rosemary and mint soap from the bath on him. "I…I'm right here…" I whispered softly. "Right here…"

His breathing evened out as I continued smoothing down his hair and whispering to him, with a light blush tingeing my face the whole time.



When I was sure he was asleep I let a little sigh and bent my knees to get back up; my legs were killing me, I think they fell asleep on me. And I wasn't asleep. I sighed again. Then realized something: Chrono was not letting go.

I reached around back and tried to pry his fingers from around my neck. No offense, but I needed my sleep, too.

"Chrono…" I whispered agitatedly to him. Well, I got no response; he was still hanging onto my neck and he seemed to be fast asleep, too. I sighed. Again.

I reached down and unwrapped the quilt from around his form, putting my arms under his neck and legs I lifted him up and carried him towards the bed. I trudged to the silhouetted form of the bed, wary of my surroundings.

Good thing I had left the sheets unmade in my wake. I laid Chrono down in the spot where I was sleeping just a little while ago and, wary of his iron grip around my neck, I crawled in behind him. I got under the quilts and pulled them up to cover us. Geez, Chrono.

I was thinking that my face couldn't possibly get any more red, when Chrono snuggled up against me. And mumbled my name. Idiot. Letting out a breath in defeat I wrapped my arms around his waist timidly and pulled him closer. I was going to have a ton of fun teasing him tomorrow. The thought put a smile on my lips.

…

"R-Rosette! I mean it!" A blush was very visible on his face and I could see as it traveled up to the tips of his ears and down his neck. I checked his hands to see if they were red, too, a teasing grin on my face.

"Oh, suuuure, Chrono." I teased.

"B-But…I…Rosette…" he retorted in defeat.

A smug grin on my face I opened the door of the dining room and walked in.

"C'mon, Rosette. I wasn't kidding, I don't—" he stopped midsentence as the old women greeted us with a sunny smile and a happy good morning. The dining room smelled _wonderful_!

"Did you sleep well?" she asked with a smile, making Chrono blush even redder. I couldn't help the snort that came out of me. And Chrono's blush—it _darkened_, if possible! Aw, this was too good. I let out a full laughter as I looked at him. "We had a good night, thank you." I managed to answer between my laughter because Chrono was stuttering over his words and looking desperately at me.

"Did you now?" She asked questioningly, still looking at Chrono. I was laughing so hard at Chrono's reaction, there were tears in my eyes.

"Y-yes, we did." I took a deep breath and tried to stop my laughter. "We did. I'm sure you weren't cold last night, were you, dear?" I asked Chrono. His retreating blush darkened again.

"N-no." he stuttered out as he looked down at his feet.

"Now, c'mon. Let's eat, 'kay?" I pulled him into a chair beside me and smiled up at the woman. "What did you make? Something smells _delicious_!"

The elderly woman smiled down at me. "I hope you don't mind, I made the usual breakfast," she answered. "We have scrambled eggs, pancakes, ham, bacon—let's see," she paused, "Oh—some muffins, too. And milk, orange or grape juice, 

or water for drinks. What would you like?" The woman was smiling down at us. I think I was practically salivating already, just thinking of all that food.

"Rosette?" Chrono asked, nudging me.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, um let's see," I started listing off what I wanted, "Four pancakes, some scrambled eggs, three pieces of ham, four pieces of bacon," –I paused and turned to Chrono—"Do you want half of a muffin?" I asked. He nodded. "Okay, a muffin, a cup of orange juice and a cup of milk." I finished. The woman was still smiling.

"It's good that you have such a big appetite, you don't see a lot of that around anymore—it's always diets, diets, diets with young people these days." She said. "And what about you?" she asked Chrono.

"I bet you have a fun time filling up his stomach, don't you?" she asked—to Chrono. He nodded, embarrassedly going along; we were a 'couple' after all—not just any couple, but _fiancés_, too. I snickered at him and he turned to look at me before ordering his breakfast.

…

"You." He turned around, "You're the man in business class, seat A13, correct?" I asked formally.

He nodded. "And you are…?" he asked.

I waved my hand as if swatting away a fly. "That is irrelevant." I answered. "I would like your seat." I stated, hating to stamp around the bush when time was running low.

He looked bewildered by the sudden statement. "Come again?" he asked.

"You heard me." I replied. "I want your seat. I'll pay you for it—"

"Rosette, it's okay." Chrono murmured softly from behind me. I turned around. "No, it's not okay. Just let me talk for a bit, 'kay? Anyways," I said turning back towards the businessman, "I'll make it worth your while; I'll pay you back plus interest. Just give me your name and address and I'll send you the check."

He looked skeptically at me. "Yeah, kid, like you can pay me back—plus interest." He started to walk off.

I started after him. "W-wait! Just listen! I'll even give you my address. If within a week you don't get your money back just come there, okay? And c'mon, I'm not even asking for money—all I'm asking for is your seat, sir!" I shouted after him. Chrono was tugging on my sleeve and asking me not to make a scene.

"It's okay, Rosette." he was saying.

"It's not, though, Chrono. When we land over there, we're going to land at the O'Hara and that place is huge; I could lose you in the crowds there and it'd take forever to find you again, trust me. I've been there." By the look on his face he was probably wondering how and when and why I was there. I didn't answer his questioning gaze, instead choosing to turn around and try negotiating with the man again.

This was when I noticed the little circle surrounding us. And I'd realized I'd just made a scene. Well, it was too late now to not make a scene. If drama was the only thing that would work, well, we'll give drama a try then.

"Please, sir," I begged. "I wouldn't have asked you if I'd had any other choice. The only other seat has a family of six sitting there. And I don't want to ask one of them to go sit somewhere else so that I could sit with my…" –I looked at Chrono—"My fiancé." That got his attention. Inwardly I smirked.



"We're going to see my mother, but…well…see, my fiancé has never gone on an airplane before and—and she's very nervous." –I turned to look at Chrono, he was blushing. I did feel bad for making Chrono play the part of a woman, but—"Aren't you, honey?" I asked. Chrono looked at me subtly and then nodded. Well, it was a half-truth, I guess. This probably wasn't Chrono's first time on a plane but I could see that he was nervous and we _were_ going to "Mother" dearest. Maybe he wasn't nervous about the plane ride, but about something else? I wasn't sure. I'm sure it wasn't about the car though. I had called Azzy to ask someone to drive it back to the hospital and she said she'd pay the people for my _borrowing_ it—of course I would pay her back, too.

I could see the sympathetic looks of some people—and the glares directed at the man for refusing from others. I felt kind of bad for the man, but…

"F-fine." The man finally relented after looking around. He got out his wallet and pulled out a piece of paper and a ticket. "Here. Write down your address." He said as he shoved the piece of paper into my hand. I wrote down my address in San Francisco and handed it back to him. He handed me his ticket and I gave him mine.

"Thank you, sir." I grinned brightly up at him.

He turned away. "D-don't mention it." he stuttered as he walked away.

I looked at Chrono's amazed face and grabbed onto his hand, dragging him towards the gate. If we're going to sit in the seats we had to catch the plane first, after all.

**--END CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX--**

**A/N: Okay, so hope you liked and, uh, yeah: Review. Also, haven't said this in a long time but I still want all you guys to know that I appreciate that you guys still read and/or review this story. **


	27. Chapter 27 Criminal

**A/N: Yep, second chapter in one day! Hope it's not disapointing! Yeah, so Enjoy!**

* * *

(Chrono's POV)

I slowly blinked my eyes and looked next to me. Rosette was sitting there, a pillow in her hands. "Huh? What time is it? Where are we?" I asked, disoriented.

"What?" she turned to look at me. "Oh, Chrono, you're awake." She smiled. "Look out the window." I did as asked. Looking outside I saw the darkness and little specks of light dotting the darkness around us. I put my palms up against the glass and looked down. The land below us was lit with lights as well, and I could see water as it reflected the lights. Everything looked so beautiful from up here. It was breathtaking.

"Where…where are we?" I breathed out as I continued to stare out the window.

"Oh, we're—"

"Passengers, please make sure to have your seat belts on and hold onto any loose luggage." A voice announced, interrupting Rosette. "We are about to land in San Francisco."

San Francisco. That was where we were now. I remembered. We had landed at the O'Hara and waited there a bit then gotten on a plane—that _wasn't_ one-way—to San Francisco. And now, here we were—in San Francisco.

Rosette leaned over me, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Huh? What are you…" I trailed off as I watched Rosette buckle my seat belt for me, then doing the same for herself. "Oh."

"Now," she said as she looked up into my started face. "We just have to wait until the plane lands, then we're outta here."

"Where are we going then?" I couldn't help asking.

"Hmm? That?" a mysterious smile appeared on her face. "You'll see when we get there…San Francisco is our last stop, you know."

So. This was it. Her much talked about mother was here. Wait. A question popped up into my head: If Rosette's mother was here, then shouldn't her family also be here? And if so, then why had Rosette needed to come to Magdalene to find Joshua? Had Joshua run away or…? He didn't seem the type to run away… my thoughts trailed again.

Suddenly Rosette's hand was waving across my vision. "Hello? Earth to Chrono. Anybody home?" she asked as she continued waving.

"Huh. Oh...oh!" I startled as I got up. Rosette had grabbed my hand was already pulling me up with her. "We landed?" I asked. I saw the back of her head as she nodded, leading me out.

…

The cab pulled into a long, tree canopied avenue. "Thank you, we'll walk from here." Rosette said as she pulled me up after her. She got out her wallet and pulled out the amount needed—plus a tip.

As the cab drove away Rosette took my hand in hers and started walking down the wide sidewalk. The grass here was still green and the trees still had leaves. It was odd for me to see this during Christmas; usually it's snow and Christmas trees and pines during this time of year. I looked around. It was dark but I could see gates behind which some houses stood—and those houses were pretty big.



As I looked around Rosette suddenly came to a stop and, not seeing that she'd stopped, I bumped into her back. "Rosette?" I asked, questioningly.

Rosette let go of my hands and as she backed away from the high brick wall she said quietly, "As soon as we get over the fence, we run. Don't stop. Okay?" she asked turning to look at me. I nodded unsurely, wondering just _how_ _I_ was going to get over this wall.

I wouldn't have long to find out.

Rosette huffed as she pulled herself up the wall. Sitting with one leg over each side she reached her hand down and beckoned for me. Hesitantly I took her hand. It wasn't that I didn't trust her, it was just…I didn't trust myself.

Rosette reached down, taking hold of both my wrist with her hands. She looked questioningly as she gently squeezed each wrist. "It's okay." I murmured quietly back. With a huff she pulled me up beside her and onto the thin perch of the wall.

"Okay, run for it." She whispered as she took my hand and jumped down. I stumbled after her. She was a very fast runner. Well, faster than me anyway.

We were darting across the dark yard and towards the front door and I could hear sirens as they came closer. I cold hear the sounds of alarms going off just as I thought I heard a pack of dogs _barking_. Oh, shoot. We were in for it now.

Why do I suddenly feel like a criminal?

I huffed as I kept pace with Rosette. Soon I _knew_ there were dogs. And they were after us. I could hear their panting as they ran behind us.

"R-Rosette…" I called desperately. She was fumbling in her pocket for something.

The dogs were right behind us. And that's when I tripped.

Suddenly a flourish of furs lodged themselves at Rosette, panting and…wagging their tails?

Huh? What was going on here?

I could here Rosette's laughter as she said, "Calm down, boys. Yeah, I know I'm back." she laughed again as one of the dogs licked at her face. "Yeah, yeah. Stop it now." She was still laughing and as she patted their heads and scratched behind their ears I could hear their pleased growls. So…these weren't man-eating dogs then? I let out a sigh. What a relief.

"Stop it, guys." She laughed again as she pushed their heads away. I could hear shouting in the distance. "Oh, shit." I heard Rosette mumble as she finally got to her feet. As Rosette looked around one of the dogs pushed his muzzle into her hand. "What is it, boy?" she asked as she looked down. "My…key?" I could hear her grin. She got down on her knees again. "Thanks, you're the best, guys." As she got up she pulled me with her. She shooed the dogs away mumbling something softly to them.

As we jogged the rest of the way I asked her what she'd said. "I told them to go bite the guards." She said. I didn't know if she was joking or not. I hoped she was.

...

Rosette shoved the key into the hole and twisted. With a click we were in.



As Rosette pushed the door quietly open she pulled me in behind her. I looked around too late. Oh. Shoot.

"You always did have a flair for entrances."

The woman was glowering down at us—or, more specifically, at Rosette. I looked between the two. The redheaded woman that was wearing a pale yellow robe looked familiar…where had I seen her face before…?

The door slammed shut as Rosette jumped and turned slowly around, a nervous smile plastered to her face as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Heh, heh…uh, hi…Satella..."

Satella…Harvenheit? Could it be? The woman who'd been on the news in the fall because her daughter had been kidnapped…or run away… I looked at Rosette.

**--END CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN--**

**A/N: Confusing? Not? Yeah, I know it's kind of short, but... yeah, so REVIEW please! XD **

**P.S. See, I can keep a promise. :D most of the time...**


	28. Chapter 28 Red Ribbon

**A/N: I should probably tell you this now: I don't really know how I want this to end yet. This is a story that I'm just writing as I go along, if that makes sense. Okay, just wanted to get that out of the way. Now, Enjoy!**

* * *

(Rosette's POV)

"Heh, heh…uh, hi…Satella…" I looked up as a heard a soft thud of feet. "Florette." I acknowledged, nervously backing up and covering Chrono as I talked.

I heard Florette cough. I looked up. Uh-oh.

Satella was looking down at us—more specifically, Chrono—with starry eyes. "And who's this cute little girl you have with you?" she asked as she came down the stairs and was suddenly beside me and looking intently at Chrono. She put her fingers up to his cheeks and patted them before pinching each cheek and _squealing_ with delight and cooing out, "You're so cute, yes you are…" and other such things. I rolled my eyes and hoped Chrono wouldn't die of embarrassment.

I turned to see Florette looking fondly down at us. I smiled nervously up. "You're not…angry, are you?" I asked. These two sisters could be very sweet—but when they were angry…you _did not_ want to be around when they were angry. They were very strong. That was one reason I looked up to them.

She shook her head and whispered quietly, "We'll talk later." Then turned to Satella and said, "Let the poor kid go, Satella. Sorry." She said as she looked apologetically at Chrono. He smiled weakly up at her and nodded.

Satella turned her attention towards me again. "We'll talk later." She repeated and yawned. "For now, both of you go to bed."

"Okay." I said as I followed them up the stairs. When I was about to take my second step I noticed Chrono had yet to move from his place beside the door. I walked back and pulled him after me as I stretched a hand above my head and yawned. "C'mon, Chrono. To bed." I said as I trudged through the dark hallway and towards the room at the end—my room.

I know I could let him sleep in a guest bedroom, but…I don't know, I just felt like…kind of—I blushed as I realized: I felt kind of protective of him. It seemed like every time he was asleep by himself he had nightmares and when we were together…well, maybe it was just me? but he seemed to sleep better. And, anyways, Satella hadn't mentioned anything about _which_ bed we should got to; and she probably hadn't even noticed that Chrono was a guy.

I chuckled tiredly. It was so late—or early, I guess, considering how you looked at it. It was probably near two in the morning right now, and with all the jetlag and traveling and getting up early the day before… Well, let's just say I'm really, really tired.

I pulled a yawning Chrono into my bedroom, closing the door as softly as I could behind him. Letting go of Chrono at the door I trudged across the dark room, praying that I wouldn't step on any of my junk. I thought Chrono had followed behind me, but as I turned on the lamp beside my king-sized canopy bed I found out otherwise. Chrono was still standing near the entrance to my room and, as I had turned the lamp on, he was now looking slowly around my dimly illuminated room.

His eyes finely fell on my form. I dropped backwards onto the king-sized bed and as I leaned back up and onto my side I beckoned him towards me. He looked confused at what I wanted. Well, no duh. "C'mere." I said before I let out yet another tired yawn. I really wanted to sleep. It was just…

"C'mon. Sleep. I'm tired." It was just that I wanted to get Chrono settled first. As I ran that last thought over in my mind I froze. I was not acting like myself, I realized. Ah, whatever! "You make me act weird." I muttered out quietly, not realizing I had muttered out my thought.

"What?" he asked. What about what? I wanted to ask. But I decided I would just pretend that I didn't just say that thing about him making me act weird and answer the part about what I wanted him to do. Which was: "Come to bed, and sleep—so I can sleep," I said as I stretched out and got back up into a sitting position. I scratched the back of my head absently as I yawned again. "C'mon. I'm tired."

He was looking sheepishly at me and I looked back at him. "You've come this far with me and you choose THIS moment to not trust me?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

Chrono looked down at the ground. "Um…no, it's not that…Rosette…"

I looked agitatedly at him. "Chrono…" I called, exasperated. Suddenly I straightened up. "I know," I said happily as a thought came to me, "Go to sleep, Chrono, and tomorrow I'll tell you everything, okay?" I asked.

"It-it's not that, Rosette!" Chrono said quickly as he looked up at me. Now I could see that his face was red to the tips of his ears. "It's just—it's just that you're a really a girl…and…I'm a…boy…and…" his voice had gotten quieter with each word until his voice had completely faded to nothing and his face had turned back towards the ground. I knew he was probably blushing.

I grinned. "And what about _all those other times_ we slept in the same bed?" I asked, trying very, very hard to suppress laughter at his hapless red openmouthed face. "Exactly." I said from behind my hands—my hands that were trying to kill the bubbling laughter and hide the wide grin on my amused face. I couldn't help it. I burst into laughter and fell onto my back, holding my stomach, as his mouth started opening and closing, trying to give a retort to my comment.

Chrono smiled as his shoulders sagged and he walked slowly towards my bed. "Okay." He mumbled with embarrassment written all over his face.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." I gasped, a grin still on my face, as I fought the laughter off. "But, really," I smiled as I sobered and patted the area next to me, "I'm tired."

Chrono now stood at the foot of the bed and as he looked me up and down and then himself he asked, "Is it alright to go to sleep in these clothes?" he asked.

That was when I remembered our dress. He was still in one of Azmaria's spare-of-the-moment white-trimmed pink knee length coats, with a pair of Azzy's dress clothes underneath because I had especially asked Azzy to get fresh clothes for Chrono without telling anyone. I was still in my dirty clothes.

"Uh…yeah, no." I said as I got up. I didn't want to take a bath or shower right now, but, at least… "Let's change. I should have clean pajamas around here…" as I looked around the now clean room I added, "Somewhere."

It was odd really. I could find my stuff when it was messily left in its own "named" area, but when things were clean…I could never find anything. Well, at least not without a few hours of searching, that was. I sighed and started my search.

…

I sat and waited as Chrono entered the attached bathroom to change. I was lucky to find these PJs on the third try, I guess. I yawned and looked with bleary eyes over to my alarm clock. My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as I read _3: 02 am_. in bolded red letters. Holy shit! It was that late already?!

I fell back onto the covers and it wasn't long before Chrono came out with my PJs on. He looked hesitant and I sighed as I said, "Just come over here and save me the trouble of getting up later to carry you over here."

He blushed.

I giggled, albeit a bit tiredly, at him. It was so easy to make Chrono blush.

"C'mon and let me go to sleep." I urged as I pulled back the covers and reached for the lamp. Chrono quickly scampered over and laid stiffly next to me as I turned off the bedside lamp.

I refrained from snuggling against his warmth, and scooted over to my side of the bed. Soon he was breathing softly in and out and I followed suit. Somehow, sometime during the night, I had turned around and snuggled against his warm chest and into his arms…

…

I blinked, slowly coming out of the unconsciousness of sleep…and stared right into the same slowly blinking eyes of… "Ah! Chrono!" I cried as I pushed away at the same time he did and cried out my name in recognition. Somehow, in the process of pushing off of each other, we had ended up on the floor on either side of the bed.

As I stood up, rubbing my backside, I grumbled and looked over towards Chrono, glowering. My whole back and butt hurt now. As soon as I saw his face though, his slowly blinking eyes and relaxed face flashed through my mind, causing an unmistakable blush to crawl up my own face at my thoughts.

Okay, yeah, Chrono definitely made me act weird. I shook my head, trying to shake the blush off, too.

"A-anyways, it's…" I paused as I turned to read the clock, "It's 8. Let's take a shower then we can head downstairs." Just then my stomach decided to growl and I blushed as I rubbed the back of my neck. "Heh, heh, and get something to eat, too." I added.

Chrono smiled up from his sitting position on the bed and nodded. "You wanna go first, or me?" he asked.

I thought for a moment. "Me. Bye." I gave a little wave as I disappeared into the bathroom.

…

I sat in fresh clothes on my king-sized bed. I was now dressed in a pair of boot-cut jeans and a fitting black t-shirt with pink graphics over the first bra I'd worn in who-knows-how-many months. At the moment, I was toweling my hair dry as I waited for Chrono to finish up in the bathroom.

I got up and headed towards the vanity mirror-dresser to brush out my now-messy hair. As I picked up the brush the door to the bathroom opened and Chrono stepped through the doorway. He glanced around the room, then headed towards me as he spotted me across the room.

He stared quietly into my reflection as he stood behind me. I looked into his reflection questioningly as well. "You want to know the whole truth now?" I finally asked to break the odd silence that had wrapped around us.

He nodded as he pulled a chair over to sit behind me. "If you're ready to tell me." he replied.

How more ready could I be? I exhaled a slow breath, this was a long story we were talking about. "Okay." I started as I finished my hair. "It started four years ago." He nodded as I went around behind him and started on his hair. He didn't protest as I started running the brush through his dark oddly purple locks. "You see, Joshua and I…well, we were orphans." I gave a little laughter, "Heh, I guess this story started more than four years ago—probably even before we were born…

"Anyways, so Joshua and I were orphans and we'd been orphans since our parents had died when I was seven and Joshua six. They died in a car crash when they were coming back from a party, heh, "—I turned to look at Chrono—"how stupid is that?"

Chrono looked up at me and raised a hand to my cheek. With surprise I heard his gentle voice say, "That's not stupid, Rosette."

I smiled anyway as I pulled back behind him and continued with his hair. "Before they'd left for the party I'd promised them I'd take good care of Joshua. They promised that they'd…they'd come back…early…" I stifled the crack in my voice at the end of my sentence. I kept the smile on my face. If I smiled everything would be alright…wouldn't it?

"I'd cried for them not to go that night." I started again strongly. "It had snowed and the weather report had said that it was going to snow harder later, maybe even a blizzard. And you know, we lived in Main then, by the shore and there was the lake-effect snow…" I trailed off. "Anyways, after they died we'd gone to some "relatives" of our father that we'd never heard…but they scorned us. And that," I smiled sadly, "That hurt Joshua. It hurt him that we weren't accepted by them. I knew why they didn't like us—me specifically. You see," I sighed, "Our father, the one that had died in the accident, wasn't biologically _my_ father. And they probably didn't like both of us because of our mother. You know," a tired smile was on my lips now, smiles were so hard to keep… "I heard them call our mother a whore and a slut behind our backs. It didn't matter what they thought, though. Not really.

"We only stayed with them…" I paused to think, "The longest we'd stayed with any of them was a month. Then we'd move onto a different relative. Finally it got to the point where we were moved from orphanage to orphanage, and by this time Joshua had gotten sick. And then we'd ended up at Seventh bell. It was good there. Until _they_ came." Chrono turned around in the chair to look at me. I turned him back around and ran the brush through his now smoother hair.

"_They_ were, of course, Gwen and Olivia." I sighed, tired. "They were real snobs, Chrono. I don't even know why they were there, really. And Joshua still didn't know about our different fathers. I mean, I was planning to tell him—my parents had told me when I'd found a locket that had _Forever: David & Emma_. And then another one that said: _Vinsent & Emma Forever._ I'd picked them both up and showed it to my mother and father because, well, I was confused. My mother was named Emma and my father, the one that I'd grown up with, was Vinsent, so who was this David guy, you know?" He nodded vaguely, probably going along with whatever I said so I would finish the story already.

"Well, that was when they explained, very carefully, to me that Vinsent was my father but he wasn't my "blood father," as my mother put it. They said the other man, David was my "blood father," but that my father then, Vinsent, still loved me just the same as he loved Joshua." I looked at Chrono. "To say I was surprised would've been an understatement. Anyways, after that they gave the lockets to me. To keep in remembrance, they said. Because I was special—I had two daddies." I laughed at the words. Two daddies, that's how they had put it. "And so did Joshua. But we were still real brothers and sisters and that since I was older I should take care of Joshua.

"That was probably just a week before the accident." I stated. "I sold those lockets—they were real gold, Chrono—so I could pay for Joshua's hospital bills. Some of them anyway." I was still brushing Chrono's hair even though it was smooth now, it was a soothing motion; brushing his hair. "Then one day when we were at Seventh Bell Joshua suddenly said that he was leaving—a family wanted to adopt him and he was going to go with them. I thought he was kidding and I was angry so I didn't talk to him that night. The next morning he was gone. A week afterwards Satella and Florette came to pick me up.

"They adopted me." I heaved a sigh and stretched my arms up as I smiled. "And that's how Joshua and I got separated." I stated.

"And that's what brought me to Magdalene." I said as I came around in front of Chrono. He looked with confusion at me, so I stated, "I was looking for Joshua and, well…I did some stuff and found out that a Joshua Christopher Smith was enrolled into Magdalene High School…only to find out that that school was only for boys. I knew it was a long shot that this Joshua was my brother Joshua. But, well, I took a chance. What can I say.

"And then there was you, too. And…" I looked at him then looked quickly away. "…well, that day; when you wouldn't tell me anything. You really pissed me off, and I was already pretty pissed about Joshua not knowing or recognizing me…so, yeah. Then when I ran outside, you know, I was sitting up in a tree and I had called Satella—just to tell her I was safe, I didn't want Florette having extra things to worry about." I added quickly. "But I heard footsteps and some yelling or shouting or something and somehow dropped my phone. That's when I met Azzy. And she was being chased by some guys on campus." I saw the deep frown on Chrono's face when I said this. "Genai finally stepped out into the clearing, cause this tree was planted like in the middle of this grove of other trees. I think I read somewhere on the school website that that was the oldest tree on campus or something." I added as I continued. "Anyways, so Azzy was backed up against the tree I was in and Genai stepped forward from his little gang and stepped right onto my cell-phone. I was getting angrier and angrier by then." I smiled, almost reminiscently, as I separated Chrono's hair into three parts and slowly started braiding it.

"They were attacking a—what I thought at the time was a twelve year old girl. And they had just stepped on my cell-phone, and I was already very agitated by then, so…I jumped down from that tree and beat the shit out of them. And then I when I taking Azzy back to the office I found Joshua rushing towards the scene and I could only think that he was with them and was going to try and assault Azzy—a twelve year old! So that was when I decided I needed to get away for a while. You know, think about what I was going to do about…everything." I skipped the part about my thoughts of my growing attachment to Chrono, that would be too embarrassing—for both of us.

"When I got back, I met up with Joshua and we talked the stuff out. Turns out, he had heard Gwen and Olivia talking about us—or him, rather. They were talking about how our mother was a whore and had slept with my father—I heard them say once that she probably did it for the money." I scowled. "And then how he duped her and she went to her rebound—our father, the one that had taken care of us, Vinsent." I tied off the braid with a deep red ribbon that I had laid on the dresser earlier.

"Then they had gone on to say that _Joshua_ was the one holding me back from a "better life" or whatever. He felt guilty and so he agreed to go with that family, the Smiths. So that explained why he did what he did." I finished the knot and turned the chair Chrono was in around, so he was facing me.

"And then there was you." I whispered as I looked him in the eye. "All your cuts and bruises. I couldn't forget, and I needed to know why. Call me a curious creature…" I trailed off. "And that's how we got to here." I finished.

"But…then who were those men, the ones who kept chasing us?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"Oh, them." I said, "They're Satella's cronies—I mean, well, they were sent to "retrieve" me, or something, for Satella."

"Retrieve…you?" He asked again, looking with a raised eyebrow at me.

"Hey, I wasn't the one who said it; I was just quoting what they said when they first caught me." I retorted.

"Then…at the hospital, that wasn't the first time." he stated.

I shook my head. "Nope. Oh, and did I mention," I added as an afterthought, "My blood father's name was David Harvenheit."

Chrono looked with wide eyes at me, speechless. Okaaaay… "What?" I asked, shrugging my shoulders. "I thought I needed to let you know before we head down."

Finally, after an eternity of silence, he said, "Uh…am I suppose to change into _your_ clothes, Rosette?"

"Yep." I giggled, I was going to have fun with this. I could see him looking at me with wide alarmed eyes.

I dug through the wardrobe and pulled out the frilliest sundress I could find. It was scarlet and had ribbons upon ribbons. I held it up to Chrono.

"Okay, try this on."

He blanched.

**--END CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT--**

**A/N: So, how was that? Liked, didn't like? And yeah, I know, I make Chrono seem kind of--if not REALLY--slow, but, as I've probably said before, we know Rosette's POV, too, so--essenstially--we know more than he does. That's what makes him seem so slow. Yeah, just wanted to get that out of the way. Okay, REVIEW! ...please?**

**P.S. And if you have any ideas just tell me. I'm willing to listen.**


	29. Chapter 29 That Smile

**A/N: Okay, this chapter is dedicated to **cosmic imaginer**, my 100th reviewer for this story! And all of the people who've kept reading and reviewing this story! (Do you need me to list you off by name? XD) Thanks, guys! Now Enjoy!**

**P.S. Hope you like this one, MRA! **

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(Chrono's POV)

I walked down the grand staircase in a blush red enough to match the scarlet dress I was currently in. It was a sundress Rosette had pulled out of her wardrobe and she had made me put it on. Because, she said, she didn't have any "boys clothes" other than the ones that she had changed out of, which were dirty. And she couldn't just go up to one of the male workers here and ask them to strip, either.

"Rosette…" I grumbled, staring at Rosette's hand that was attached to mine and leading me to the kitchen where she said we could get breakfast.

She turned back around, a grin on her face. "Yeah?" she asked.

"Did I _really_ have to wear _this_?" I asked as I tugged with my other hand at the dress.

A pout appeared on her lips; I could still see the grin underneath, and that only caused me to blush even more because I knew what was coming up next… "Oh, you really don't like my dress?" she asked as her bottom lip slid up more and she made her eyes big and innocent looking. I blushed as I turned away. Just what I thought she might say, but when she actually said it, well…I didn't know what to say. I immediately wanted to say "No, Rosette, I like your dress very much." and I wasn't going to, but before I knew it: "No, Rosette, I like your dress very much." slipped out of my mouth. And I blushed again. I glanced quickly at Rosette to see she was grinning. She was loving this wasn't she.

She laughed as she pulled me after her. "Really, now?" she joked as I stumbled after her, "You like that dress, huh? Maybe I should give it to you?" I looked quickly up and stopped in my tracks as I waved my hand from side to side. "NO! No!—I mean, no thanks. That's okay, really." I looked down sheepishly as I followed after the laughing blonde.

She grabbed my hand again as we came upon a dark wood door that looked really heavy. "We'll have to make do with what we have for now, but don't worry; we'll go out to buy you some—"

She was interrupted as we entered the kitchen by the redhead I'd met yesterday, Satella. I shrunk slightly behind Rosette.

"You will not go out, Rosette." she was sitting at a little table in the middle of the kitchen and looked like she was expecting us. "You know about all the press and the media—not to mention, the _tabloids_. And if you're seen with your girlfriend there…" she trailed off pointedly.

"Heh, heh, oh, forgot about those guys…" Rosette was rubbing the back of her neck as she laughed sheepishly. I noticed this as her nervous or embarrassed gesture.

"Yeah, that's why I pointed it out." the redhead replied flatly.

"Anyways," Satella continued, "Let's go into the dining room; I'll ask Steiner to bring in some breakfast."

I let the redhead pass and waited for Rosette to go ahead of me, but as she passed she grabbed my hand, turned a smiling face to me once, then pulled me out with her. We stayed a length behind Satella, which I was thankful for.

…

The sound of the platter of food hitting the floor reverberated around the room as we all stared at the butler at the door who had dropped it. "I…I sincerely apologize, Miss Satella, Miss Rosette." The man said looking downcast and towards his shaking hands. "I…don't know what's wrong with me. I'll clean this up immediately and get you another plate." He finished firmly as he bent to pick up the mess.

"It's okay. Get up, Steiner. Please. Jane, please clean this mess up." Satella said, looking over at the maid who stood gaping at the door. The maid scurried quickly in.

"Steiner…" Rosette breathed as she looked at him with wide eyes. "Are you okay?" she asked as she looked at his still trembling hands. She quickly got out of her seat and before I knew it she was beside the old man. "It's okay, Miss Rosette. Please stay seated, I'll be right back with your breakfast." The man said.

"No, I'll go help you, Steiner. Really, c'mon, let's go." Rosette said as she pulled the old man's arm and helped him back out the door, I couldn't help but think about how compassionate Rosette was. The maid had picked up the mess on the floor and put it back onto the platter. With one look at Satella she scurried out of the room, leaving me alone with Satella.

As the door closed behind the maid Satella said, "I bet she let's you see that smile all the time."

With confusion I turned to look at her. "Um…what smile?" I asked after a long moment of waiting for her to explain.

She smiled after huffing out a little air that brushed the hair out of her face. She shook her head. "You don't even notice, do you?" it was said in more of a statement than a question.

"Um…" I didn't know what to say. What was I supposed to say when I really didn't know what she was talking about?

"Whenever she's around us she smiles. Yeah, she smiles. But it's always so fake. She thinks she's fooling us; she's not. And, you know," she turned to look at me from across the table, "It hurts." She laughed.

"It's so stupid. I wanted her to be happy—" she stopped midsentence and laughed again, "Forget it. Forget it."

The door opened as Rosette walked in with a platter in hand, she held the door open as Steiner walked in behind her. She smiled brightly at me. "Got the food." She said as she closed the door behind her.

…

"Rosette…" I drawled out her name, "Should we _really_ be doing this? Didn't Satella tell us _not_ to do this?" I asked as I thought about the scary redhead.

Rosette was dressed in the same pair of clothes from this morning with the addition of a light-brown trench coat, sunglasses, and a baseball cap. I was dressed in a pair of her pajama pants—she had tons—a tight black t-shirt, a dark-brown trench coat, sunglasses, and the addition of a sunhat. If it wasn't guessed yet, we were in disguise and at the moment creeping around the corner of the house, towards the front door.

"Shh!" she stage whispered as we reached the front door. "We're sneaking out, Chrono—_sneaking_—which means we have to be _quiet_."

I nodded in understanding—not.

We really, _REALLY_ shouldn't be doing this! I was thinking about all the press, and media, and the _tabloids_ and _RUMORS _that could possibly come from this little expedition of ours—and they did NOT look pretty.

I tugged at her hand again, but this time she didn't look back; only tugged at my hand and pulled me after her.

I sighed as I followed.

…

"Keep your head low, Chrono, so they can't see your face." Rosette mumbled as she pulled her cap lower.

"But wouldn't that only make us more suspicious?" I asked. Really, wouldn't that make us look more suspicious then we already looked—sunglasses and trench coats and all?

Rosette grinned.

Oh shit. I gulped. I was in for something big time…

…

Rosette was pulling me along behind her as she dragged me from store to store in the big San Francisco mall.

We had been trying clothes on endlessly since we got here this afternoon—and we've bought at least one thing from every store we've entered! And I was having great fun following Rosette around with bags on my arms.

Because, she had said, they were MY clothes, and therefore _I_ had to carry them.

Fun. I thought as I rolled my eyes. Then Rosette looked my way with a big grin on. In front of her she held a combo of dark cargo jeans with a chain dangling off of it and a tight black turtleneck tank-top. My eyes bulged, I'm sure. She was really expecting me to wear _that_?

Rosette held the clothes out to me. Yep, she was. With a weak grin I took the clothes and started for the dressing room.

…

I walked out of the dressing room with the clothes on. Since we had been trying clothes on all afternoon, Rosette had figured out my size and gotten me fitting clothes. I blushed. I was a little—okay, a little more than a little—embarrassed to be seen by Rosette in these clothes. But, hey, I reminded myself, Rosette had picked out these clothes, not me. So there was nothing to be embarrassed about. Nothing to be embarrassed about… Nothing to be…

"Wow. You look great in that!" Rosette exclaimed as I mumbled that I had nothing to be embarrassed about to myself. I blushed. "Y-you think so?" I asked. She nodded. "Yeah, you look great!" Yeah, nothing to be embarrassed about.

"Th-thanks…" I mumbled as I looked down to hide my blushing face, the toe of my shoe digging into the carpet of the store.

She nodded. "You like it?" she asked.

I nodded. If she liked it then that was fine. I didn't care much for fashion anyway.

"Okay, let's go pay then." She shooed me back into the dressing room, telling me to hurry and change, she wanted something to eat. I chuckled as I locked the door and started striping.

…

We were sitting at a window table and eating out of the carryout cartons from the Chinese place. It was packed in here. Today was an especially busy day. I wondered why.

I watched as the people passed then turned to glance at Rosette.

She was eating away happily. She stopped mid-chew as she noticed me looking at her and blushed. Why, I wouldn't know. "C-C'mon, eat. Don't you like the food, Chrono?" she stuttered as she looked down at the drink she had started sucking on the straw of.

I grinned as I dug into my own food.

…

Rosette had finished her food and was looking at me anxiously as I slowly ate at mine. I looked up inquisitively at her.

"Um…can you stay here? I'll only take a minute." I was startled for a moment and wanted to say no. But thought otherwise. For what, I wondered, did she need a minute for? But I didn't ask, just nodded. She looked gratefully at me as she got up and walked quickly away.

Maybe she needed to use the bathroom, I thought.

…

I had finished my food a bit ago and was still sitting here quietly, waiting for Rosette to get back. She _did_ say to wait here, and this _was_ a fairly big mall with lots of people and places. I looked around again. Yeah, lots of people going places today.

Suddenly I saw someone carrying a big box with a bow on it and it hit me. Then I noticed that other people were also carrying boxes.

I stopped the person who was carrying the box with the bow and asked politely, "Um, what day is it today, sir?"

The man looked at me like I was crazy and I blushed. Then he smiled and said, "Boy, how can you not know what today is? Today is Christmas Day." And walked away after he gave me a pat on the head.

I gaped after him. Today was Christmas. I had totally forgotten with everything that was going on.

I dug into my pockets and pulled out the few quarters I had in there and got up.

**--END CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE--**

**A/N: Okay, so I need some ideas. What do you think they should give as presents to each other? Tell me, please! I'm no good at picking out gifts in real life and I'm no better at picking out ones for stories either so help me out here, okay? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! I need _SOME_ ideas! **

**Oh, and thank you for coming this far with me! This story is getting into its thirties soon... Damn, that went by fast. **


	30. Chapter 30 Tux?

**A/N: I swear I was going to put this up WAY earlier! I swear! But, you see, _SOMEBODY_ just _had_ to HOG it THE WHOLE TIME! I mean day and night! Both Saturday and Sunday--well I was able to get on for like ten minutes, but I had to do something else, too. **

**P.S. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed or read this story. Oh, and Poshpuppy and MRA, I'm going to post something else for MM&GF, JSYK. **

**Okay, Enjoy!**

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(Rosette's POV)

I looked around at the table with all the bags still left on and around it. Now where did Chrono go? I wondered as I hid the bags behind my body. Today was Christmas and I had almost forgotten. I'd gotten presents for not only Satella and Florette, but also Chrono, Joshua, and Azmaria, too.

I don't know if they'd really like the gifts, though. I wasn't good at picking out presents. Really, I wasn't. I hope what I had picked out was okay…

Ah! "Chrono!" I yelled as I spotted him coming back towards the food court. He grinned sheepishly as he noticed me, his hands tucked neatly behind his back.

"Sorry," He said as he came up close enough for me to hear without him yelling, "I…had to use the bathroom."

"Oh," I muttered, "Okay." I turned around and grabbed all the bags, dumping them onto his arms. I pulled him after me as he muttered about not being able to see, and I turned back around giggling as I noticed why. The bags in his arms came up over his head and were blocking his view. I giggled again as I guided him towards the bathroom.

I smirked as I came to the entrance. Another pro for cross-dressing: I was still dressed like a guy—actually, the clothes could also be girl's clothes, too. And therefore I could go into the bathroom with him without anybody noticing. As I dragged him after me into the men's bathroom, I thought I heard a strange click and turned back around.

"Rosette…?" Chrono whispered questioningly as he stopped behind me.

"Nothing." I muttered back as I turned around and pulled him all the way into the bathroom, closing the door behind us.

As I looked through the bags, I grinned as I found the perfect pair of clothes.

Digging the clothes out from the bags I dropped them into Chrono's unsuspecting arms and shoved him towards an empty stall.

…

As he walked out with his old clothes in hand I grinned as he blushed and pulled nervously at the seams on the jacket.

Chrono was wearing a black tux with matching black slacks. The deep red floral tie that lay under his patterned maroon vest was knotted crookedly around the neck of the white buttoned dress shirt. The solid merlot pocket square on his tuxedo coat was also crookedly stuffed in. I grinned as I walked closer to him.

"Your tie is crooked…" I stated as my hands landed on said tie and untied it. I pulled on the tie and unknotted it, then fixed the ends before carefully retying the tie back up—the right way. "And your…pocket square…is crooked." I stated softly as I fixed that up also—albeit, only making it look a little neater. This was a little dressy, but…

"Isn't this a little…formal?" Chrono asked as I finished and straightened out his shirt.

"That's because it's late and we won't have much time to change—we have to make sure this fits you. C'mon," I said as I motioned him back towards the pile of bags. I pulled out a pair of black dress shoes and looked at him. "Here, put these on."

"B-but _what_ won't we have time to change for?" he asked as he bent down and slipped the shoes on.

"Why, the Christmas Ball, of course." I stated matter-of-factly. The uttered words made him stop in his tracks.

"The…Christmas…Ball?" he asked as his eyes slowly traveled back to look me in the eyes. "What Christmas Ball?" he questioned.

"The one you'll be going to with me?" I asked with pleading puppy-dog eyes.

"W-what?" he stuttered.

"The Christmas Ball—well, it's more like a formal party—that is being held today. Satella is going to introduce me and I need an escort and," I said hastily, as my eyes slid over to look at his, "you're the only reasonably okay guy I know, and the first person I thought of to ask, and it's too late now to ask somebody else—but if you really don't want to go I'll ask one of the guys working for us, or something." I stated as I rattled on and I got more and more nervous. "So, will you _please_ go with me?" I finally asked.

With an exasperated sigh Chrono mumbled, "Yeah, of course I'll go with you."

I squealed as I jumped up and shouted, "Yay! Yay! Yay!"

"Thanks, Chrono!" I shouted as I jumped on him and wrapped my arms around him in a tight hug. Thank goodness he had said yes. "I promise you'll have fun. Though it can be really boring, those things. But if you're there we'll have lots of fun!" I talked on excitedly as I told him how thankful I was and how much fun we were going to have.

He grinned weakly at me, nodding along with my words.

"Okay, go change back now. Hurry!"

…

I looked in the mirror one last time. I'd only had forty minutes (which I thought was plenty of time) to get ready and Satella had given me the evil eyes and a good scolding when I got back with Chrono behind me, trailing with the bags of things we'd bought. Not only for sneaking out—which she was used to—but also for sneaking in late—which she should've been used to, too, but…well…

I was in a dark-maroon gown that ended just above my ankles, it had a modest sweet-heart neck line and spaghetti-straps. (Or something like that—I can't remember exactly what the people who put the dress on me said; they said a lot of stuff about this dress.) A thick white seamed black sash was wrapped around and knotted at my back; the ends of the sash reaching to my shins. My hair was pinned up by little pearl and ruby clips into a messy bun with a few curled strands of blonde hair falling out; my bangs were swept to the side. And my face had almost no make-up on it; only lip gloss, blush, and some eye shadow to highlight my eyes (at least that's what the people said; how eye shadow would do that though, I didn't know). On my feet were merlot-colored open toe kitten heels with little pearls and black onyx decorations surrounding a bigger pearl in the center of each shoe.

I was really dressed up. And it had been a while since I'd dress in girls' clothes. A really long while. I gave a nervous smile to my reflection again before stepping out of the room and into the hall just as I heard Satella yell, "Rosette! Hurry up! We're going to be late!" I picked up my pace.

As I stood on the stairs, I watched as Chrono came out and walked towards me. I had asked a maid to come and help him change into the tuxedo in another room while I changed. I grinned as he offered up an arm. He was blushing. I looked him up and down one last time and straightened his tie before taking his arm in mine. Chrono looked absolutely gorgeous.

As we stepped onto the ground floor Chrono was pulled away and into the arms of, of course, no other than Satella.

"Oh my god, Rosette! Where'd you get this little cutie!?" she squealed as she clung to him. I rolled my eyes.

"Satella, you already met him. Yesterday. This morning. Ring a bell?" I asked. I was about to roll my eyes again, but then as I looked as Chrono's eyes I saw the terror in them and stopped. My mouth fell into an 'o' shape as I realized: Chrono was still terrified of being touched. I glared at Satella as I pulled Chrono out of her grasp and stood in front of him protectively. I knew it wasn't that Satella was doing that on purpose, she probably hadn't even realized he was a boy until this moment, she didn't know what had happened to him—because of me.

A flood of guilt wracked me but I smiled as I turned around and looked at Chrono. "You okay?" I asked softly. With his nod I turned back towards Satella. Florette had already gone ahead; she was the main host, after all. "I didn't introduce you guys formally, so: Satella, Chrono. Chrono, Satella. Okay?" I asked as I turned back towards my sister.

"Wait, wait, _wait a moment_, Rosette." Satella said as she slowly turned to look at me. "So you're telling me you were sleeping in the same room with a _boy_ ever since you got back?" she asked menacingly.

I laughed nervously. "Well…uh…that is, uh…" I glanced at the clock, "Oh, would you look at the time…we're going to be late. Let's go." I said quickly as I pulled Chrono out the door with Satella following closely behind. I wasn't about to tell her that I'd been sleeping with Chrono for half the year already—and been surrounded by boys, too.

…

I glanced around the hall lazily. Chrono and I stood outside the doors, waiting for Satella to open them and introduce us. We'd just gotten here and I was already bored. I grinned as a thought came to me—a thought that could possibly make this party _less_ boring. Chrono turned to look at me.

"Don't even think about it." he said as he noticed my grin.

I gave him an innocent look. "About what?" I asked.

"Whatever you're thinking about doing, don't do it," he replied, "Satella said she'd be right back. And your…sister's scary."

I laughed. "Okay. Okay. I won't…" I trailed off as another great idea popped up.

"I'll do exactly the opposite of what I was thinking about doing…" I whispered with a grin as I leaned over and tilted his head up, a hand sliding up to the nape of his neck. I leaned in and pressed my lips lightly against the area just above the corner of his lips as I closed my eyes. "Punishment." I whispered with a smirk as I felt the heat in his cheeks against my lips. And I'd had such a great idea, too.

Bulbs of light suddenly flashed around us as the space had suddenly gotten very loud. "…Rosette Harvenheit."

My eyes snapped open as I stood frozen in my position. I could hear the astonished gasps and interested questions as microphones were pushed towards me.

"Is that your escort?"

"Who is that?"

"What's his name?"

"Is that your boyfriend?"

"Your lover?"

"How long have you two been together?"

"How did you two meet?"

"Is he the son of a big company, too?"

And so on and so forth. I slowly pulled away from Chrono, a blush bright on my cheeks. This has really gotten out of hand, it seems…

"Uh…uh…" What was I supposed to say?!

"This is…uh…this is…" I glanced at Chrono, who was flushing just as brightly as I was, and said, "This is—"

**--END CHAPTER THIRTY--**

**A/N: Okay, so kind of short. I'll post another chapter very soon. If you have any ideas for what Rosette should give to Chrono, tell me now. I've kind of decided on what to do about Chrono's gift Rosette, but not hers for him--and if you have any ideas, it would really speed up the posting of the next chapter if you told me. I know, I know, I should just think up something--But I'm not good at picking presents! Okay now, please leave a Review! **


	31. Chapter 31 Escort

**A/N: ...I'm not dead. Sorry I haven't updated sooner. I know. It's been...about almost half a year? t.t' But here it is. Hopefully it's okay. If you care to know why I haven't updated sooner, I'll put that at the bottom. Please, Enjoy!**

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(Chrono's POV)

"This is…uh…this is…this is—" Rosette stuttered as she looked at my face. I knew I was blushing just as red as she was, but I gathered up my courage and looked into the crowd of people.

"Yes, I'm her escort." I interrupted. I put on a twitching grin as I pulled Rosette into the room. I didn't want to hear Rosette herself say that I was only her escort, or only a friend. "It was just a…we were only playing." She was probably just playing with me. Rosette…

God, why was I so afraid? Rosette looked at me with an unidentifiable look in her eyes. Unidentifiable only because I wouldn't admit what I knew it was…

She looked at me one more time, then turned to the mob of people around us with a grin I could see was fake and said slowly, "Y-yeah, this is my escort, a-and, uh, we were just…" she looked at me again before turning back, "…playing around."

See? Just playing around, right? She was just playing around…right?

My hand—of its own accord—moved to hold onto Rosette's. Okay, not of its own accord. I wanted to hold her hand, I'll admit. I also wanted to ask her myself what I was to her… I wouldn't do it, though. I smiled. "Yeah, yeah…"

The doors to the ballroom closed behind us.

…

I was standing out on the balcony of the ballroom. Outside, the wind was cool and gentle as it brushed past my skin and blew around me. Suddenly a strong gust of wind blew past me and I closed my eyes as I leaned over the balcony and into the wind, the coattails of the blazer trailing behind me in the wind.

"Nice out here, huh?" a soft voice murmured from behind me. Startled, I snapped my eyes open and quickly turned around to look at the intruder. I hadn't heard the doors open…

"Rosette…" I muttered quietly as I recognized her form against the brightly lit glass French doors. I turned around and looked back into the night. "Yeah…" I answered.

I heard the sound of her heels as they clicked towards me. I could feel her presence as she leaned on the balcony beside me. We stood in silence as I gazed up at the stars. They were just visible above the bright city lights. "It's beautiful…out here…" I mumbled in awe. These were the brightest stars I'd seen in a while.

"It is..." she answered, and I turned to look at her, "But these stars are nothing compared to the ones you can see out in the country. They're the same, but, Chrono, they shine so much brighter. Nights there are so beautiful you'd hardly believe it wasn't out of a fairytale, Chrono…"

I looked at her with awe. She was beautiful; bathed in the soft silver light of the moon and the shadows of the night, her golden curls and pale skin, and her dark red gown, she gave off an eerily ethereal glow. As if she wasn't real—as if she wasn't of this world.

I raised a hand up and caressed her cheek—to make sure she was real.

Slowly, she turned surprised eyes towards me. "Chrono…?" she asked.

I let my hand fall and I turned to look back out into the darkness. "Sorry…" I mumbled. I don't know what came over me.

I fumbled a hand in my pocket, looking for… Found it! I grinned triumphantly as I pulled out the little box.

"Rosette," I called, her attention hadn't left me, "Here. For you." I mumbled, now shy, as Rosette looked at the box, then took it. She stared at it for a moment then looked at me with a grin. Quickly, she'd peeled the box of the little wrapping paper I had wrapped it in.

"I-it's not a lot," I said hurriedly as she pulled out the silver-colored link necklace with the little gold-colored locket-like-pocket watch at the middle that was wrapped around the few pieces of chocolate I had managed to buy. The chain necklace had come out of one of those crane machines at the mall that you had to reach in and grab with the claw thing, and the chocolate I had come by really cheap—some kind of Christmas sale or something. The pocket watch thing though, I'd gotten from a lady at the mall who said she was a fortune teller—a physicist, or something—she'd given it to me and said something about—I blushed again thinking about it—she'd said I should give it to the girl I l-loved. I didn't know if I l…loved…Rosette…but I liked her very much.

I'd neatly wrapped up the little gift in a box, that I'd asked the maid that had dressed me for.

"But I hope you like it." I finished as I looked eagerly at her face.

She grinned, a really big smile that made her eyes twinkle even in this dark. "I love it!" she engulfed me in a hug, choking the air from me. I only had a little flinch at the contact before I relaxed and shyly brought my arms up to wrap around her form. "Thanks, Chrono." I could hear the delight in her voice as she breathed the words into my ear and I couldn't help but wonder…was she so happy because I had given her such a little gift?

She pulled back quickly and I watched inquisitively as she searched in the little purse I hadn't noticed she was carrying.

"This is for you!" she grinned as she pulled her own box from the purse like magic. I looked at the gift then at her face and back to the gift. I reached out for the gift, unwrapping it slowly, careful not to tear the precious paper Rosette had wrapped it in. I knew Rosette had wrapped it just by looking at it—it was wrapped in a not-messy way, but it also wasn't wrapped really neatly, like how they wrapped it at the stores. And it even had her touch—a little smiley face on piece of paper attached to the yellow silk ribbon wrapped around the box. As I pulled the ribbon off Rosette chirped, "That's yours, too. It's a ribbon for your hair!"

I smiled as a blush crawled up my face. A ribbon for my hair? Okay…

As I pulled the box open I saw what was inside and my breath hitched in my throat. There was a reading light—to be specific, a LightWedge reading light—the very one I'd wanted to buy, but couldn't! Inscribed in tiny cursive into the plastic handle-wedge was **From Rosette C. To:** then in big cursive letters it said **Chrono Daemon.** After which was inscribed a message:

"**The things that are most important aren't written in books. You have to learn them by experiencing them yourself."**

I looked at Rosette again.

"I-I can't accept this…" I trailed off. It wasn't like a hundred dollars expensive, but it was still pretty expensive.

She pouted as I glanced in her direction. She glanced at me as I looked helplessly at her and "harrumphed." Then she said, "Well, you have to. It has your name and everything."

"Don't you like it?" she suddenly asked quietly after the silence seemed to stretch for an eternity between us.

"Of-of course I do!" I said hurriedly. I loved it, and I wished I could accept it, but…it was so expensive…and I'd only gotten her that little necklace and the chocolates…

"Then why won't you accept it, huh?" she asked as she turned slightly away from me, still looking out over the balcony and into the night.

"I-I…Rosette…" I murmured softly as I edged closer to her. Even though I don't think she wanted me to know that she was hurt by my answer, I knew she was. "Rosette," I laid my hand gently on her shoulder, as to get her attention. She turned slightly to look at me, then turned back around. "I'm sorry, Rosette," I said more insistently than before, trying to make her look at me. For what reason, I didn't know. I just wanted to see her face…

"I-I like your gift very much…" I trailed off as she continued to look out and away from me, "I'll accept it…"

I could hear my voice, and I was practically begging now. "Please…please, just look at me…" I begged quietly. "C'mon, Rosette…" I pleaded.

Finally she turned to look at me. "What?" she asked, a slight tremor in her voice. Then she looked away and rubbed slightly at her arms, as if the air out here was chilling her.

Without much thought, I took off the jacket of my tux and wrapped it around her shoulders. She fit snugly into the jacket. "I'm sorry." I said fervently as I looked down at the buttons and buttoned up two of the middle buttons. Now that she would finally look at me I said, "I love your gift, Rosette…really, I do…but…" I looked up slightly, to meet her eyes, "It just seems so expensive, compared to what I got you…" I trailed off as did my eyes. I looked down at the ground, next to her shoes.

"OW!" I yelled loudly and suddenly as she bonked me on the head. I looked up at her from my huddling position, tending to my very tender head. "What was that for?!" I yelled, then looked back at the door and hissed more quietly, "What was that for?"

She "harrumphed" again with her face tilted slightly up, then she glanced down and looked at me with glare. "_That_," she said, "was for being stupid."

I looked at her in bewilderment. Speechless.

"Geez, Chrono." She started muttering to herself as she pulled the jacket tighter around her arms, "And to think, I went through all that just to get it for him. And what does he say? It's _expensive_. Blah, blah, blah. Hmph." She was looking away again, and whether she noticed it or not, I noticed that she took a deep breath of air as she snuggled into the jacket, inhaling…the scent of it? Then I heard her quiet sniffle.

I got up immediately, like lightning had struck me, and wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her close to me as I pressed my face against the back of her neck. "I'm sorry," I breathed quietly to her, aware, yet unaware, that my breath was fanning the back of her neck, "I really like it. How'd you know that's what I wanted?" I asked as I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of her hair; the scent of her.

She was stiff in my arms for a moment, then relaxed against me and said softly, as if this was a secret between us, "Remember all those nights I…got drunk? Or came back late?" I nodded against her neck. "Yes?" I urged her to go on.

"I wasn't drunk _all_ of those nights. And sometimes when I came in late…you were always asleep with a book laid down on your chest or you were up reading…by flashlight or something…so," I could hear the slight smile in her voice and that made me smile slightly, too. "I thought you might want…" she shifted in my arms, turning slightly in my arms, so now she was facing me at a forty-five degree angle. "..a better reading light…" I could feel her warm breath on my face, "…or something…" she was just inches from my face, and I could feel as I leaned towards her, my arms loosening to turn her more towards me and tightening again as she faced me fully. I was just…centimeters…from her lips…if…

"Rosette!!!"

We jumped apart from each other, my grip on her immediately loosening and letting her go, as I blushed a dark red thinking about what we had almost done. My blush was probably red enough to match the merlot pocket square on the jacket. I looked intently at the ground—intent on _not_ looking at Rosette.

What was I thinking!? Why-why had I almost done _that_?! I panicked silently in my head, still not daring to look Rosette in the eyes.

"I-I think we should go back…" Rosette murmured quietly from the other side of the balcony. "Here," she said as she came back towards me. Then she put the jacket back on me, saying thanks, and grabbed my hand, opened the door, and pulled us from the balcony, dragging us through the dark and shadowed upper part of the huge ball room—the glass chandelier in the center of the domed room casting light was interrupted by arched pillars that cast shadows into the hallway we were traveling through. Rosette hurried down the red carpeted stairs, dragging me behind her, my hand still clasped in hers.

I tugged gently on her hand, silently telling her to slow down. She would trip over her own shoes if she kept going at this pace—especially since she was wearing those heels and that long dress, though she did look gorgeous in them… She looked back at me, a rosy blush growing on her cheeks, before she turned back around and slowed down a bit.

"Ahem," Rosette coughed quietly as she tapped on Florette's shoulder, the blush still on her cheeks. Florette looked at her and smiled than threw a smile at me also and said, "Good, you're here, Rosette." She turned back to the people she was talking to before we had interrupted her. "I'd like you to meet some of our business associates."

She gestured to the big man that had his tux pulled a little too tightly over his big stomach. He laughed a deep warm laugh as Florette introduced him as a "Mr. Jackson Smite."

"So, this is the infamous Rosette Harvenhiet in person, eh?" he commented warmly as he extended a warm hand. Rosette smiled slightly and shook his big paw, then turned to me and said, "Yes. And this is…" she looked searchingly at me, a somewhat confused expression on her face, "This is my escort, Chrono."

He looked at me with warm brown eyes. "Well, it's nice to meet you, too, Chrono." He extended a big hand, which I took, albeit hesitantly.

Florette had just finished introducing the rest of the half dozen people around her when Satella huffed towards us. "Rosette." she growled under her breath. She looked, quite frankly, furious. "Where. Have. You. Been?" she ground through her teeth.

"Hi, sis," Rosette greeted, then looked around innocently, "I've been here, talking with some of our business associates. Where have you been?"

Satella glared at her, then smoothed out her dress as if she could smooth out all the wrinkles in it, and took a deep breath. "Looking for you." She said, somewhat "civilly" now.

"Oh, so sorry to have caused trouble, _dear sister_," a mocking grin on her face, she looked at Satella, "But I was here all along."

Satella's head snapped to glare at Rosette before looking pleadingly at Florette. The audience that was watching chuckled with amusement amongst themselves.

…

Rosette flopped backwards onto the bed, exhaling a deep sigh.

"I am _SO_ tired." She exhaled in another breath. Her shoes were thrown into the corner and her makeup was off, her hair was in disarray as she sat back up on the bed. The dark red dress she wore was askew on her and the long black sash was wrapped around her arm, across her back, and around the other arm.

The jacket to my tux was off, too, as was the tie and the vest. All my things had been thrown on the chair in front of her vanity. The white dress shirt and the slacks were all I had on of my formal clothes now; my shoes had been thrown into a corner, too, my socks with them. I'd unbuttoned the top two buttons of the dress shirt and rolled the sleeves up to my elbows to make myself more comfortable.

Rosette picked at one of the little pins in her disarrayed hair and tried to pull it out. That ended in her yelling a sudden "Ouch!" and mumbling curses about "stupid hair clips that wouldn't come out." I smiled slightly at that. Rosette looked helplessly at me. "Can you _please_ help me take these dumb things out?" she asked.

"Sure." I smiled timidly as I crawled onto the big bed she was sitting in and sat behind her, gently pulling at the little pearl and ruby clips, letting loose a soft blonde curl at a time.

Before I realized it Rosette had leaned back against me, her soft head of hair pressing against my dress shirt and tickling the underside of my jaw as she took deep long breaths, her eyes closed. She'd fallen asleep. I smiled fondly down at her. So she wasn't kidding, she must've been _really_ tired to have fallen asleep so quickly—and _sitting_, too!

I got up carefully and laid her head on the bed, going around to the other side and moving the blankets away. I came back around and leaned down, lifting her up and carrying her carefully back to the other side of the bed. I laid her down on the sheets, then pulled the blanket over her prone form. I turned on the little bedside lamp and started towards the light switch, intent on flipping them off.

I wasn't going to be sleeping in here tonight, that much I knew, but…I just wanted to see her face once more before I went to bed.

In the time that I had gone to switch the lights off and came back, Rosette had turned around, towards the middle of the bed now. I crawled slowly over the other side of the bed, careful not to make a sound that might wake her, though I doubted that she would wake—even if the world was ending. I smiled slightly again as I looked carefully down at her face; her rosy cheeks and slightly upturned lips, her closed eyes that were partially covered by honey-blonde bangs that swept across her forehead messily.

I brought my hand up and gently swept the mess of bangs from her eyes. I was about to bring my hand back when Rosette's eyes open warily, and her hand came up to grasp my wrist. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the low light, and in a soft sleep-woven voice she murmured, "Stay here. Save me the trouble of coming to get you…"

She brought my hand up to rest on her cheek, and she closed her eyes, her breath evening out again as she fell back to sleep. I chuckled quietly to myself. Well…I guess I could stay a little while. Just…until she was deep enough asleep that she wouldn't notice me leaving.

Hesitantly, my hand crawled up her face and into her hair. And softly, I started stroking her hair again, sweeping it from the front and smoothing it back. I can see why this is so soothing to her when she plays with my hair, I mused absently as I continued the motion, my head growing heavy as did my eyes. Well…maybe just a little…I muttered in my head as I curled up on the bed and laid my head on the pillow beside Rosettes', still gently stroking her hair.

Just a little…while…more…I kept mumbling to myself, like a mantra. Just a little while more…

Before I knew it, my breathing had slowed, and my eyes had closed.

And I sunk into the black oblivion of tired sleep, exhaling a breath…

**--END CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE--**

**A/N: How was that? Hopefully not too bad? Tell me what you think, okay? I'm kind of anxious since I've been gone for so long... ANYWAYS, the reason: You know how life just gets in the way of writing for your favourite FFs fandoms? That's _kind of_ what happened. School and some other stuff I'd rather not say happened, so...yeah. Anyways, please review. :)**

**P.S. Tell me what you think about the gift. I couldn't think of anything else. Thanks for the help, BTW.**


	32. Chapter 32 Embarrassing

**A/N: Here's the next chapter...it's dedicated to...you know who you are. Thanks for always being there before. **

**Okay, everybody, I hope you like this chapter--it get's a little mushy I guess, but...well, deal with it. I wanted to write a little mushy fluff stuff. Okay, Enjoy!**

**Opps--DISCLAIMER: Haven't done this in a long time, but I DON'T OWN CHRNO/CHRONO CRUSADE. This is_FAN-_fiction. **

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(Rosette's POV)

There was a scream that sounded of surprise. Groggily I blinked my eyes and couldn't see anything for the darkness of the room and the warmth of the bed. I didn't _want_ to get up… I brought a hand up to rub at my eyes. Or at least I _tried _to. My motion was stopped. I couldn't move my arms from the elbow down.

I blinked.

And blinked again.

There was an aggravated growl.

I blushed.

He sighed, exhaling a soft breath that tickled my face as he tightened his arms around me.

I blinked again.

I shouted when I realized, fully awake now, that it was Chrono. I pushed my hands hard against his chest, pushing him away as I scrambled to the other side of the bed.

"Rosette….Christopher-Harvenheit…" I looked at the door where the growling voice was coming from. Uh-oh. Satella.

I raised my hands up in front of myself, waving them, trying to explain. "S-Satella," I stuttered, "It-It's not what you th-think!" I looked sidelong at Chrono who was blinking cutely awake. Wait. _Cutely?_ I shook my head. Satella stepped into the room, then took another menacing step towards me. Chrono was sitting on his hunches, looking like he was trying to understand what the heck was going on.

Satella was glaring at me.

"5 seconds, Rosette…_five seconds_…" she started counting off.

"It's not what you think, Satella!" I shouted again, "Chrono was just sleeping with me—I mean I was just sleeping with Chrono—!" I stopped. That was so _not_ going to make this situation better. There were _so_ many connotations behind that… "Wait! Wait, that's not what I mean! Thant's not what I mean! Satella…!" I looked at her pleadingly.

"3…2…"

I looked at Chrono.

He looked blankly from me to Satella then back to me again.

"_Chrono!"_ I hissed.

"Uh…" he started, "I was just…sleeping with Rosette." He quirked an eyebrow at me, questioningly. "We've been sleeping with each other since Rosette—"

He was cut off dramatically—thankfully—when Satella suddenly shouted, "FLORETTE! Come up here!** NOW!**"

I don't think I could've gotten any redder than I was at this moment as Florette rushed up the stairs and down the hall to my room.

She stopped at the door, looked between the three of us already in the room; Chrono and I in our disheveled just-awake looks—me, redder than a steamed lobster—and Satella steaming and red (for a different reason—mainly anger). "What…?" she asked, out of breath.

Satella pointed a very disapproving finger at the two of us still on the bed. Florette looked at us and I made an attempt to explain opening my mouth—but closing it again, not wanting to incriminate myself even more than I had in the eyes of Satella. Of course, leave it to Chrono…

"Uh…I think…Satella just found us…sleeping…together…" He looked at me then, missing the look on my eldest sisters' face. He did not hear the connotations behind his words, did he? I knew what my sisters were _probably_ thinking—something along the lines of us hot and sweating against each other.

I blushed. Okay… I brought a hand up to try and cover my unbelievably red face. Wrong move.

"Rosette?" Chrono asked; I didn't dare look up. "Are you okay?" I peeked up between my fingers. He was kneeling on his knees right in front of me. "Um…" he was biting his lip and looked a bit nervous. I felt kind of bad. "Did I…say something…wrong?" He asked. "I thought they…uh…thought it was…normal…to sleep together? Isn't that why you didn't ever have a problem with me? …Is it okay that I…told them?"

I shook my head. "I'm…okay." I croaked at last. "You…didn't say anything wrong."

My sisters were speechless to learn that I had been doing this since…they didn't know how long.

I looked at Florette's pale face. She opened her mouth and then closed it again. Then she opened her mouth and said, "I think we need to see if you're…pregnant, Rosette—"

"I AM NOT _PREGNANT_!" I shouted, red. I couldn't believe it! They—they! "It was just _sleeping_—we were just _SLEEPING_. **NO CONNONTATIONS WHATSOEVER!"**

I could see the grin on Satella's face. She couldn't hide it. She was _so_ enjoying this. I glared at her.

"Uh…" Florette looked at Chrono—who was looking very lost and confused as to what we were talking about—for confirmation. "Is that…right?" She asked, her question directed at Chrono.

"Um…" he bit his lip, "Rosette's…pregnant…?"

I was gaping at him.

"I AM _NOT_ PREGNANT! _**NOT!**_"

"Um…we really _were_ just sleeping, Florette." He said as he looked at me, kind of a hurt look on his face.

I looked pleadingly at him.

"See?" I asked, looking at Florette. "We were just sleeping."

"I…see." She said, then turned around and left, dragging Satella behind her. "Get changed—not in the same room!" Satella shouted as she was dragged on her heels out the door. I grinned, smirking smugly at her as the doors closed behind her.

"Okay!" I clapped my hands together and turned to look at Chrono. "Let's get changed."

"Okay." He got up, got off the bed, started towards the door.

"Chrono?" I called, stopping him.

"Yeah?" he asked, still turned away.

"Chrono…" I got up off the bed, "Hey…Chrono, I'm…um…I'm sorry…I kind of…yelled at you." I wanted to wrap my arms around his chest, pull him close to me…make him forgive me. I shook my head, quickly shaking the weird thought and blushing lightly at the fact that I actually wanted to do that.

But…

I brought my hands up hesitantly, slipping them between his arms at his side. He turned around then, and I blushed because now my arms were wrapped around him and he was facing me. Could there _be_ a more embarrassing position?

"Ro…sette?" he asked.

Okay. Hmm. What to do. This was embarrassing. I was acting totally…totally…I don't know! I pressed my forehead hard against his collarbone, hiding my face. Hiding the blush that dusted my face. Okay…just go with the flow then. I'd…if to tell the truth…I…kind of wanted to…hold him…? Is that weird? Does it sound…perverse? Or is it just me? I took a deep breath to calm myself, and couldn't help noticing the distinctly Chrono scent that hung about him. My hands tightened around him.

"It's…okay, Rosette. I'm not angry." I felt his hand come up and smooth down my hair, I relaxed a little.

He pulled away lightly, and my blush darkened as I tightened my hold and whispered, "Can we…just stay…like this…a little while…longer?"

I inhaled. "I…kind of like it." I whispered so quiet I was sure he hadn't heard me. But, to my surprise:

"I…kind of like it…too…like this…" he whispered. I felt his lips, his cheeks, against the crook of my neck; felt his breath as it brushed against my neck, by my ear, blowing my hair back. My breath hitched and I felt my breath catch in my throat. I exhaled after what seemed like a millennium passed, my own breath brushing back his long, disheveled hair.

A knock. Then the door opened.

"Oh." We turned to look at the door. "I didn't know I was interrupting…sorry." She quickly closed the door behind her; you could hear her embarrassment as plainly in her voice as you could see it in her red face. We pulled apart and I laughed nervously as I rubbed at my neck. I could hear him as he laughed nervously, too.

"Sorry, " I said, still rubbing my neck, "We should probably…uh…change."

"Yeah…" he said as he opened the door and left, going into the room that was designated as his for his time here.

…

The table was silent as we came down for breakfast about ten minutes later.

I looked from Satella to Florette. "Um…" I asked. "Good…morning?"

Satella looked at me, then tossed some papers at my feet. "Look at those." She said.

I did. I bent down and picked up the papers. I started reading through the headlines as Chrono and I started towards the chairs closest to us.

_**THE THIRD HARVENHEIT CAUGHT KISSING ESCORT UNDER THE MISTLETOE**_

_**HARVENHEIT, ROSETTE KISSES "ESCORT" UNDER THE MISTLETOE**_

_**UNDER THE MISTLETOE, HARVENHEIT III KISSES ESCORT**_

_**ROSETTE HARVENHEIT CAUGHT GIVING (FIRST?!) KISS TO UNKNOWN BOY**_

_**ESCORT RECIEVES KISS FROM HARVENHEIT, ROSETTE**_

_**THE THIRD'S FIRST KISS IN PUBLIC CAUGHT**_

_**THE MISTLETOE WORKS IT'S CHARMS ON ROSETTE HARVENHEIT**_

Read the headlines of the newspapers and magazines, all with different angles and crops of me kissing Chrono on the cheek—well, just above the lip, I guess. Except. In the pictures, with us turned slightly away from them and my hand on the nape of his neck and my eyes closed, it looked like we were lip-locked. And now, as I examined some of the pictures, I saw a sprig of Mistletoe hung above the doorway where we had been.

Oh. My. God!

I looked with a slight horror and nervousness at Satella. But it was Florette who spoke. "You didn't tell us you and Chrono kissed, Rosette."

"We…didn't." Chrono answered quietly as he eyed the papers in front of me.

"I kind of…um…" I looked at Chrono, more embarrassed than ever right about now. "I kind of…well…kissed…Chrono—not on the lips!" I said hurriedly as I waved my hands in front of me. "Not on the lips! It just…" I turned to look at the papers. "It just _looks_ like I did. Right, Chrono?" I turned to look at him. He was turned away.

"Yeah…we were…just playing around."

Breakfast was uneventful after that short explanation.

…

"Hey…Chrono?" I asked.

He didn't turn towards me. "Hmm?"

"Chrono…do you think I can…go back to school?" I asked.

"You can do whatever you want, Rosette. You know that. You've done it before, anyways."

"Yeah…" I answered. But that hadn't been what I'd wanted to hear. I was standing behind him now. I untied the band that was tying his hair back and let it loose, bringing the brush up to comb through his long locks.

"I'll go back with you then…to the school. Then…I'll…" I trailed off.

I finished with the brush and put it back on the dresser.

"Chrono?"

"Yeah?" he answered.

"Stay with me tonight?" I asked. I blushed. "Please?" He was a comfort even if he didn't know it. He was a comfort to me and I didn't know how he'd gotten to be one. I just knew he was. He was more than a comfort. He made me feel…warm…and loved…and…real. He made me feel…strong and weak…at the same time. I…

"Please?" I begged again.

He turned in the chair to look at me questioningly. "You sure? After this morning's…episode?"

I smiled. "Yeah. So can you stay? Please?" I said as an afterthought. I made my best puppy-eyes at him; big, begging, pleading, vulnerable eyes I knew he could never say no to without it getting on his conscious. I know it was a _little_ low, but…

He sighed. Smiled that smile that I lov—liked so much. "Okay. I hope you know what the consequences of your actions will be tomorrow." He grinned wickedly as he slipped under the covers of the bed. I grinned. I did.

I turned off the light and wandered in the dark towards my bed.

I slipped under the covers and felt around for Chrono. Having found him, I wrapped my arms tightly around his form, and pressed my forehead against his.

I sighed. "Thanks…Chrono."

"Yeah…" he exhaled back.

Later when I was sure he was asleep I whispered, "I'm…glad you stayed with me. I…hate the dark…sometimes." I admitted. "It's…scary…it's…lonely, really. Thanks…"

"No problem…" he whispered. Even in the dark I could hear the smile in his voice as I blushed at the fact that he had heard my (what I thought were) secret words. I smiled slightly and snuggled close against him under the sheets as I fell asleep.

**--END OF CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO--**

**A/N: How was that? Hopefully they weren't _too_ out of character... Okay, Review! Tell me if you liked or didn't like. I know it's going kind of slow--but you need time to build a relationship, you know? **


	33. Chapter 33 A Week

**A/N: n.n' Sorry. I didn't intend to take so long...but I got stuck on the second half. Oh, and there will be some stuff--some _more_ stuff--on New York City in this chapter, and I don't live there nor did I do a lot of research, so if some stuff is wrong...well...I'm sorry on that. n.n; ANYWAYS, now that I'm done with the apologies, Enjoy!**

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(Chrono's POV)

I woke, knowing it was Saturday, knowing we were leaving today to go back to school. And I remembered yesterday, how Rosette had asked me to stay with her, then, in the late of night, quietly told me thanks. I smiled. I should be the one thanking her. Before that…

She'd asked me…asked me if I thought she should go back to the school with. Pain gripped me. She shouldn't have. I…I'd wanted to…to beg her. Beg her to come back, come stay with me again. I'd held myself back, made myself seem indifferent, let her decide for herself. I didn't want to force her to…go back with me…to stay with me. I wanted for her to choose for herself. I wanted her to choose me, to stay with me, by herself, without…without…

I sighed, combed my bangs back with outspread fingers.

"Rosette…" Gosh…. "Wake up, Rosette." I brought my hand up to shake her shoulder.

"Mnhh…" she murmured, swatting my hand away.

I pulled her upright, into a sitting position. "Rosette…_wake up_." I begged again.

She blinked her eyes groggily. "_What?_" she asked in a sleep-slurred voice.

"I _said_ _WAKE UP,_ Rosette."

"UHN!" she growled, "No! _Sleep!_" She flipped towards me and then onto the bed, bringing me with her, under the sheets as she snuggled under the blankets she had brought back up to cover her head. I chuckled, wrapped my arms around her. "Fine." I mumbled.

…

"_**AGAIN?!!!?"**_

I startled awake, sitting ramrod straight in the bed, and looked around.

At the door was Satella, Rosette's older sister. Uh-oh.

I shook Rosette. "_Wake up."_ I hissed. "Wake up, _Rosette._" I hissed again, shaking her.

"Wha…" she blinked her eyes, "What's…goin' on? Chrono? Huh?"

"_Rosette._" I coughed, "Your _sister_, Rosette. _Satella. Wake up."_

"Oh." Her eyes really opened now. Her big, ocean blue eyes. "Yeah. That." She turned to look at the door where Satella was standing. "Hey, Satella. What's up?" She grinned. "_Consequences, huh?_" she muttered under her breath, glancing sidelong at me before looking back to Satella, smile pasted on.

"_**RO-SETTE!"**_

…

Rosette huffed as she slung the messenger bag over her shoulder and ran in front of me with my hand in hers, pulling me along behind her. I ran, keeping pace with her.

"Is it…" I huffed, "necessary…to…" I huffed out another breath, "run?" I asked.

She grinned as she turned back quickly to glance at me. "It is."

I sighed and ran.

"Fine."

I grinned.

…

I stared out the window of the plane as the airport disappeared behind us and we lifted from the ground. I looked next to me to where Rosette was. She grinned at me. Then her smile broke as she looked hesitantly questioningly at me.

I tilted my head. "What?" I asked.

"I—" she stopped, "It's just—you…" she trailed off again.

"What is it, Rosette?" I asked. "What's wrong?"

She looked down, then at me. My hand. My face. "Chrono…" she said my name so softly I wasn't sure if she'd really said it. I tilted my head again. "Yeah?" I asked.

She reached towards my hand. I didn't flinch. It was Rosette. She took my hands, then looked thankfully up at me. I didn't know what she was thankful for.

"Chrono, I just…" she turned to look away, then she faced me again, "Will you be okay? Back there? I…It was…my fault." She looked earnestly at my face. "Don't…don't try to hide it. I know…it was because of me that these…" she gripped my hands tightly and moved the sleeves of the coat, showing the old scars where skin had re-grown and barely noticeable bruises were healing back to their natural hues. She seemed to let out a visible sigh of relief as she lowered my hands again. "These. Don't…lie anymore. Tell me. What happened."

I smiled, a little nervous. I moved my hands to hold her wrist, change our positions as I held her hands in mine. "It's…not your fault. It's not. Okay?"

She tried to pull her hands away. I held her hands tightly. "_It's not your fault, Rosette_." I repeated. "It's _not_, okay?"

She nodded, but looked away. "Yeah…okay." Again Rosette tried to pull away. I held down tightly. She faltered and leaned her head on my shoulder. I let go of her hands and wrapped my arms around her form as much as I could, sitting sideways as I was.

"A-Ahem." Someone coughed from the aisle. I swear we _jumped_ apart—though how, I wouldn't know; considering that we were strapped down. I let go of Rosette though, and turned shy eyes to the aisle where a flight attendant stood looking disapprovingly at us.

"A…heh heh…" I laughed nervously.

"What would you two like for your lunch?" she asked, then she started listing off what we could have.

I sighed as Rosette listed off a whole _other_ list of what she wanted. Rosette is Rosette, after all.

I smiled.

…

We stood outside the imposing wrought iron gates of the school. I pulled my hand from hers, but she grasped tightly. I looked over at her and tugged my hand questioningly?

"Rosette?"

She looked at me, then at our connected hands, and at me again.

"Oh," she let loose her hold, but then tightened her hand again. "Um…" she was looking down, "Do you…mind?"

I stopped a moment. _Do I mind?_

"No," I pulled her hand and pushed open the gate. "Let's go."

We walked pass the office building, through the courtyard, and I pulled her through the wood of snow covered trees. Finally we stood before the steps that led to the dorm building. I stopped, not sure. I looked nervously at Rosette.

She turned to look sidelong at me, then beamed that big, bright smile of hers at me. And I couldn't help but smile back, the nervousness washed away. Rosette pulled me behind her as she strolled in front of me now. When did that happen?

Probably when we were at the door.

We walked past the lobby, down the hall, then up the flight of stairs that led to the floor our dorm room was on.

She paused, hands inches away from the stairwell door, then, with a resolute look, Rosette pulled the door open and I followed after.

…

I flopped down onto my bed and sighed. I could hear the springs on the other bed as I guessed Rosette did the same thing. Finally, I got back up and sat down on the bed, grinning like a fool.

"That was great." I sighed happily.

"Yeah," Rosette was up by now, too, and grinning, "That was really fun—we should do it again, Chrono!"

If possible my smile grew wider. "We should!" Now Rosette was laughing.

"What?" I asked.

She staunched her laughing long enough to stutter out, "B-but you…" she burst into laughter again, "You sucked, Chrono!"

I pouted. "Yeah right, like _you_ were any better." I muttered, then giggled as I glanced over at Rosette.

"The _reason_ I fell down the first time was because _someone_ fell down on top me…" I mumbled, trailing off leadingly as I glanced pointedly at Rosette.

"Hey!" she shouted, "That wasn't my fault! It was _your_ fault for stopping so suddenly on the ice, idiot!"

I laughed. God, I wanted this to last forever. I turned to the side to hide my snicker from Rosette's glare. And my eyes caught on the calendar.

I sobered.

"Rosette…" I whispered.

"Huh?" she asked, sounding extremely confused.

"Rosette," I turned to face her, "It's the thirty-first."

"Oh," she turned to glance at the calendar, too. Then in a voice I knew was trying to hide the strain, she said, "Yeah, I guess it is." Here she paused.

"Wow. A week already…it went by…faster than I'd thought…" She sounded more like she was speaking to herself and I didn't know how to respond, so I just sat quietly and watched her.

She turned quickly to me now, and in a voice that sounded too loud in the silence that preceded, she said, "Wasn't it fun though, Chrono?" And there was that smile on her face. The phony one that she thought she could still trick me with.

"It…was," I answered. Because it really was; it had been a great week. We'd come back; we'd slept; then we'd gone out into New York City; we walked around; we took a cab to Central Park; we went to the shops in Tribeca; around Greenwich Village and SoHo; we walked around the Financial District; through Time Square at rush hour at night and watched the spectaculars; we walked on the banks of the Hudson at sunset; we saw the Statue of Liberty; we went skating at the Rockefeller Center. We'd laughed, and we'd smiled; we'd talked, and yelled, and whispered. We'd done things that, living here, I'd never thought of to do before.

And I'd forgotten that it would end soon; that school would start soon.

"Hey," Rosette interrupted my musings, "Tonight's the New Years then, isn't it?" she grinned. "Tomorrow, it'll be a whole new year, Chrono."

Yes, tomorrow would be a whole new year. I glanced at Rosette. But would it be a whole new year with, _or without_, Rosette. That was what I wanted to know.

"Chrono," there was a glint in her eyes again.

"Yes?" I answered, unsure.

"Chrono, let's go to the New Years Ball Drop in Times Square…?" There's was a note of a question at the end of her sentence, but I could tell she really wanted to go. So I grinned, though I wasn't really a party person, and said, "Yeah, sure, if you want to."

"Yay!" Her arms grabbed me in a chokehold as she crushed me in a tight embrace. Of course she wanted to go. "There's going to be music and people, lots and lots of people, and music, and confetti! It's gonna be so fun, Chrono!" She rambled on quickly, listing off what was going to be there and what we were going to do, and what we should do, and who was going to be there, and what was going to be.

"R-Rosette," I huffed out at last, "C-cant…breathe."

"O-oh." She pulled back and looked sheepishly at me. "Sorry."

**--END CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE--**

**A/N: So? How was that? Not too bad, hopefully? Please Review! XD And to those readers out there who have stuck it out with me and this story, _THANK YOU_--espeacially to you reviewers! This story will be ending in a couple chapters, I think. Then I'm starting the sequel--cuz I just couldn't leave it without a sequel! lol :D I know, you guys are probably going "oh man..._more_?" Again, Thank You to everyone and please REVIEW!  
**


	34. Chapter 34 True Confession of Rosette C

**A/N: Here you go. Another chapter. :D This one is up fairly quick, I think. It's short, but I hope you like it, because this story's coming to a close. Sort of. Enjoy!**

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(Rosette's POV)

"Rosette…?" There he called again, closer than before.

"Yeah, over here, Chrono." I called back quietly. I pressed on the link, scanned down the screen, and wrote down the numbers.

"Rosette. There you are." He was at the door now, looking into the dark room, and I quickly logged off of the computer.

"Yeah, I was right here. Why?" I looked questioningly at him as I got up, stealthily sticking the piece of paper into my back pocket where I would—hopefully—not forget it.

"Oh," he looked past me into the room, then back at me again, "do you still want to go to the ball drop?"

I grinned and nodded my head exuberantly.

Chrono grinned. "Okay, let's go get ready then. It shouldn't be too cold tonight."

I grinned. "That's great! C'mon!" I dragged Chrono behind me as I headed away from the lab. "Let's go get ready!"

…

"Wow!" I looked around at the proclaimed "sea of humanity." And, truly, that was what it was. All around me were bodies and bodies of people, screaming and shouting and in ca-hoots about the coming New Year. And it was only ten o'clock. I grasped tightly to Chrono's hand. Wouldn't want to get separated from him; with this many people around…who knew how long it would take to find each other again.

"Chrono! Chrono! Look!" I shouted as I pointed to the Coca-Cola add. It wasn't like I'd never seen it before—I'd just never seen it before in person. I'd watched the New Years ball drop on T.V. before, of course. But…God! I grinned at Chrono as he looked up, too. This was so much better, especially with Chrono here!

…

The big screen before us read 11:58. Only two minutes to the New Year. Two minutes.

I tugged on his hand. "Chrono…I…" I hesitated. Would everything change if I told him? Would we even be able to do anything? Would he say…that he liked me, too? Or wouldn't he? "Chrono…"

"Rosette? What is it?" He asked now, his full attention on me. Or was I just being melodramatic? He had a sort of wondering frown on his face. I noted absently how cute it made him look. And I blushed. Did I just—! I shook my head. Okay…deep breath…open your mouth—

"Rosette?" I scowled, he interrupted me. The screen showed 11:59 and people grew more eccentric.

"Rosette," he took both my hands in his and I didn't quite hear what he said because I was so distracted. But I heard enough. "Rosette," he said, "Say what you need to say, because, well…wouldn't you rather regret saying something than regret _not_ saying something…?"

That's right. I looked him in the eye. I would rather regret having said something than _not _having said it all.

Everyone was counting now. And I gathered my wits about me.

"_**FIVE."**_

Even though I'd made up my mind…I would still tell him.

"_**FOUR."**_

I took a deep breath.

"_**THREE."**_

I backed away a few steps. The space between us stayed cleared of people, oddly.

"_**TWO." **_

I looked at Chrono. Straight at him. Here goes.

"_**ONE."**_

Okay.

"CHRONO, I LOVE YOU!" I shouted as loudly as I could.

And everyone around me cheered and screamed louder than before, if possible. Confetti steamed down like a heavy storm around us, covering every screaming, shouting, dancing, kissing, hugging being in it. And Chrono rushed toward me and enveloped me in a hug, too. I hugged him back.

"Happy New Year, Rosette." He said into my ear. I took a deep breath.

"Happy New Year…Chrono."

I smiled. Good, I don't think he heard me. I said it though. And I felt so much better now…even if he hadn't heard me. My eyes started to tear. I brought a hand up to quickly wipe them away.

"Happy…New Year…Chrono…"

…

I thought about all the things that had happened this past half year, as I laid there, pretending sleep. Right next to Chrono. His breath pulled in and out evenly. He was asleep. And I hugged him closely.

I thought about that first time I'd seen him, in the classroom. Sitting far off in the back and looking dreamily out the window. I thought about the first time I talked to him, asked his name. I smiled. I think he _had_ blushed that day. I wonder if, during the entire time we were together, he ever questioned to himself if I was actually a girl. I don't know.

I thought about…falling onto what I thought, at the time, was a bed. But now suspected was actually Chrono. I restrained a giggle. He must have been so embarrassed, having another "guy" fall on top of him.

I thought about many things. About when Chrono got sick…about when he'd found me that first day in bed… And my face darkened with the queasiness I felt as I thought again about that first time I found Chrono's scars.

I felt for the piece of paper still in my back pocket. Good.

I pulled my arm out from under Chrono. I guess…it was time to go.

Though I wanted to stay, I could never get through school like this. And there was something I wanted to tell Satella and Florette, too. Plus, I knew…this was just a crush. Love in high school…it was just puppy love and it would pass. And I knew it. I wanted more. But…

I sighed as I wrote on the paper.

"**Chrono,**

**I'm sorry I'm leaving without saying it to your face again. Haha :) ****I wanted to tell you that I lo –"**

I stopped and put down the pen. I crossed out the last part as the blush grew warmly on my face. I am NOT going to write that.

"**Chrono,**

**I'm sorry I'm leaving without saying it to your face again. Haha :) ****You can be mad at me. I'm going to become what I want to become though. Thank you for everything.**

**-Rosette C."**

I put it on the desk and grabbed my things, slinging my pack over my back again. This felt like déjà vu; leaving a note and creeping out. I frowned a little, but continued towards the door. Chrono's breath hitched and I stopped in mid-step. His breath slowed back into evenness and I relaxed.

I opened the door, locked it, and closed it again, gently, behind me as I went off down the unlit hall towards the stairs and down into the dark courtyard below. Snow was falling gently now, covering everything around me in a coat of dusty-looking snow .It was three in the morning and the streetlamps shone down on me in a yellow-orange color, casting my gray shadow into the dusting of snow on the streets. I hailed a taxi.

As the yellow car pulled up beside the curb I opened the door and put my things inside. I stopped a moment before going in though. I stopped and looked back through the gate, across the vast courtyard, and to the dorm building I knew Chrono was in. My eyes scaled the floors up to the one I knew he was in. And then my eyes crawled to the window to the room I was supposed to be sleeping in. The room I wasn't in and Chrono would be.

I smiled slightly as I whispered softly into the air where I knew no one but me would hear, "I hope we'll meet again…Chrono…"

And I stepped into the cab.

"Where to, ma'am?

"To the airport, sir."

**--END CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR--**

**A/N: Okay. I know. Short. But what did I tell ya? :p Okay, so here's what I have planned: I'm going to start the epilogue and it should be fairly short, so it _may_ be posted by Saturday, the 7th; I plan to post the first chapter of the sequel before, or around, Valentine's Day--or February 14th. The reason this even HAS a sequel...a little will be explained in the epilogue. Thank you for reading this story! And please, REVIEW! It is much appreciated. :D  
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	35. Chapter 35 Epilogue

**A/N: Okay. Here's the epilogue. Enjoy! It's very short. I know.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN CHRONO/CHRNO CRUSADE OR ANYTHING AFFILIATED WITH IT. In short: I own nothing of Chrono/Chrno Crusade.  
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**--EPILOUGUE--**

(Chrono's POV)

The day after New Year's Eve, I woke up to find that Rosette was gone. She must have gone in the night. Again. I had smiled at the idea. It was just like déjà vu. God, she liked to leave in the night like that. Like a thief; a ninja; some arcane creature that mysteriously made its way into my life, but just like _that_, disappeared again just as mysteriously. She'd left a note though. An odd little thing with a smiley on it and "thank you" of all things.

Aion Rennis never came back to that school though. And Sister Rizelle wasn't there anymore either. It wasn't until years later that I found out why Aion Rennis even bothered to come to that school. It wasn't until _then_.

Life after Rosette went back to a seemingly "normal" setting. Everything was like before; uneventful. Joshua Christopher didn't go there anymore either. Everyone said that he and his family had moved and that he was then transferred to a public school somewhere.

It was like nothing had changed from before I'd met Rosette. It was like I'd never even _met_ Rosette Christopher. But…I had the gifts she'd given me, and the words that she had spoken, as proof. So I kept in my mind…and in my heart…that I had really met her. And…maybe I would again. But until then…I could only live and love.

I didn't know, then, who had been paying for my school tuition. I never even give it a thought. And I didn't know, then, that I was a secret.

It would be four years before we met again. Rosette and I. And, by then, we would be changed. Our lives would be changed. Mine would be by meeting her. I would have found love by then. Like I said, everything was changed. I think…even what I remembered about her were changed. How I remembered my feelings, that was changed, too. I think I forgot a little. And…I would make mistakes. The things I felt for her…they got twisted and hidden beneath a layer of anger. And the mistakes were made. And everything changed in the course of five minutes. Everything with her went wrong.

**--END EPILOUGE--**

_**--**_**END**_** BOYS CATHOLIC SCHOOL--**_

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A/N: That's it. For BCS, anyway. I hope you stick around for the sequel. And the reason for that...well, it takes place years later, so I thought it best if it was a sequel and not just another chapter. You know? Thank you for reading. And I know it was short...not even a page in Word. Thank you again and please REVIEW! ;) I hope you enjoyed this story.  
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